Forgiveness Of A Kitsune
by Kaiya Smith
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki. The boy that was chosen to contain the Kyuubi. One of the top pranksters of Konoha and dead last of his class. Though he may seem worthless on paper, she will show the ninja world that she is indeed the most surprising ninja. Wait. What?
1. Prologue

Forgiveness of a Kitsune

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did then there would have been serious changes made to the story.**

Prologue

It was a normal night of Konoha. Well it was as normal as you can get when there's a giant fox that looks like a mutated rabbit with orange fur and nine tails that are swinging around wildly. Many shinobi and kunoichi fought the Kyuubi no Kitsune only to lose their lives as a result. Fortunately the 4th Hokage had appeared and those who were still alive watched him standing atop the giant toad summon, Gamabunta. Those who could cheer in victory and their spirits were raised at the impressive sight. Only to watch as Minato performed a jutsu that created a flash of light as he attempted to summon the Shinigami in order to seal the Kyuubi into his own son. His last words were for the village to view his son as a hero since he is the shield that keeps them safe from the Kyuubi. Most would later view Minato Namikaze's sacrifice with honor and only most of the ninjas would view his son as a hero instead of the demon he contains. Though that handful would have some added opinions of why he did it. The reinstated Third Hokage Sasuke Sarutobi would believe he did it to avoid the paperwork and the wrath of his wife Kushina Uzumaki who left after she heard about what happened. Rin accompanied her as a favor to her deceased sensei and to get over everything that has happened as well. Sarutobi didn't complain or argue. Though that could be because he didn't want to deal with two upset kunoichi who could make his life hell should he attempt to stop the two. Jiraiya didn't feel like staying in the village but he still helped out when he could with his spy network gathering information on threats as well as keeping tabs on Orochimaru. Tsunade had left around the same time as well. She and Shizune left after seeing how everyone reacted when they heard the news of what happened. Specifically, Tsunade was rather disgusted with what happened when Sarutobi revealed their savior. Needless to say her respect for her sensei went down a notch or two when she was told that she couldn't take Naruto with her. Sarutobi did learn a few things that night.

1. He should have probably tried knocking Minato unconscious and do the sealing himself. At least then both of Naruto's parents would be alive and be able to take care of him.

2. It might have been better if he had kept quiet about the sealing. Now Naruto has many people inside the village wanting to kill him. Sarutobi could only hope his decree to keep them from speaking about the Kyuubi being inside Naruto would make things easier for the boy.

3. Apparently, Tsunade has a soft spot for babies and endangering even one is suicidal. Sarutobi was just lucky that he was her old sensei and that he was old. Those who care about Naruto would think that she just took it easier on Sarutobi because he cares about the boy and needs to be healthy to protect Naruto.

4. He might need to assign a mandatory examination to those survivors who were in close proximity of the Kyuubi. Several survivors had reported hearing something they passed off as a hallucination. They could have sworn that when the 4th had performed the sealing they heard a woman's voice shouting out "Oh Shinigami-kun!"

For now, Sarutobi had something more important on his hands. Something not even Minato could eliminate completely. He had a secret to making the problem easier to manage. Unfortunately, he took that secret to his grave. Sadly enough, that leaves Sarutobi the reinstated 3rd Hokage to deal with the paperwork that Minato left behind with the additional paperwork that was generated due to the night's events. The old man was even forced to smoke some stronger stuff than what he usually put in his pipe. Especially when he read the reports that made him question the sanity of many surviving ninja. Thankfully, Kakashi has been keeping an eye on Naruto. Now if only he could finish this damn paperwork and figure out how to keep Naruto safe in the years to come, then he might be able to get a little reading done. Good thing no one entered the hokage's office at that moment or they would have seen a light blush on Sarutobi's face and heard a perverted giggle as he continued to deal with paperwork. The things Konoha citizens could think up from seeing that would certainly not do well for his image as the village leader. He needed to be hokage to keep Naruto as well as the village safe.

Sighing, Sarutobi found it rather unfortunate that Danzo didn't die during the attack. Then he wouldn't be considering the idea of either killing Naruto or trying to turn the boy into a weapon. The circumstances wouldn't have been so bad if his teammates didn't agree with Danzo. Fortunately a majority of the council is against either idea but they certainly aren't going to jump in and support Naruto. The orphanage will have to care for Naruto when he is older since the council overruled him on allowing some one to adopt the boy. The old man almost smirked when he thought of how that action just prevented a clan from using Naruto's power to suit their own ends. As well as any one who would use this as an opportunity to abuse the boy behind closed doors. Maybe some day Naruto will be able to forgive him for what he has done. For now… paperwork.


	2. Chapter 1

Forgiveness of a Kitsune

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did then there would have been serious changes made to the story.**

Chapter 1

It has been twelve years since that fateful night. The village has improved quite a bit since then even though the villagers themselves haven't improved their attitudes towards Naruto. The 3rd's law hardly helped much since those of Naruto's generation still picked up their parent's hatred even though they never understood why Naruto was hated. For this reason alone it was agreed that a certain incident that occurred nine years ago, was to be kept secret and the only document detailing what happened would be accessible to only the hokages. Fortunately those who know of the incident, view Naruto as a hero of the village. Ibiki, Anko, Itachi, and ironically Gai have kept the secret of that night ever since.

--- [Flashback no jutsu ---

In an odd sequence of events Naruto was saved from a mob by Gai who was so loud that he caught the attention of three nearby ninja. Ibiki and Anko were enjoying a night together as they relaxed while talking about recent events. Itachi was actually about to relieve the ANBU that was suppose to be watching out for Naruto that night. Needless to say he was upset to find no one around. Now with four rather irate ninja where just one of them would easily be able to disperse a mob of angry villagers, well let's just say that they were lucky that the injuries were only minor. Afterwards, the four ninja carried an unconscious Naruto to the Hokage Tower to report on what happened. However, Sarutobi had seen the whole event and told his secretary as well as the guards to let them into his office without delay. They wisely chose to listen since his tone broke no argument. The old monkey wasn't going to be dealing with any of their crap that night.

Sitting at his desk, Sarutobi waited for when they would show up. He had prepared himself as best as possible for when they would show. But nothing could prepare him for how they showed up.

"The Hokage…"

"Shut up lady." Even the 3rd was surprised at the amount of venom in Anko's voice.

**Smash **

"Was that really necessary?" The fist in his door obviously belonging to Gai and the near emotionless tone of Itachi's words were very good clues of just how upset those two were with the night's event.

Gai shook off the new decoration of his arm as Ibiki opened the other door with a little more care. Anko stepped inside first and set Naruto's unconscious body down on a nearby couch. Ibiki was the first to approach the 3rd's desk and speak with a "calm" voice.

"Lord Hokage. Gai discovered a mob assaulting Naruto Uzumaki. In his own way, he alerted nearby ninja of the situation. Anko and I were in the area, so we made our way there to help Gai and Itachi stop the mob from continuing." Brisk and to the point but with an obvious look of anger and disgust on Ibiki's face told the Hokage a lot. The fact he was smoking his pipe with a very specific blend told those with a good nose that he had seen the event and was upset as well. This allowed them to relax their anger a little and listen calmly to his words.

"It would seem that we may need to find someplace else to talk in private." Gai had the decency to blush at this and instantly agreed with the other three following his example a second later.

The six of them went to a more secluded room, where upon entering, Sarutobi activated the privacy seals and sat down signaling the others to do so as well.

"Now then, care to explain your actions?"

"Lord Hokage. We couldn't just stand there and do nothing. I know what it's like to be hated for something beyond one's control, but they were attacking a boy who couldn't even defend himself. There were even Chuunin in the mob! It's obvious Naruto isn't the demon but those idiots can't seem to realize that!"

"She's right Lord Hokage, it would have been very unyouthful to allow such unyouthful actions."

Despite the sweatdrops that could be seen behind the heads of everyone except for Gai and Naruto, who remains unconscious, an observer could almost guess what everyone was thinking. 'What have you been smoking?' The awkward silence lasted for only a couple seconds until everyone could hear an odd snickering from Naruto. However, all they saw was his unconscious body. Wonder how they'd react if they knew what was going on inside Naruto's mind?

---------------

Waking up in a sewer is certainly not something Naruto would consider to be a good thing. Despite it being dark, cold, and wet enough to have anyone's ankles surrounded by water, it sure was better than being beaten by some angry mob who wouldn't stop even if he was knocked unconscious.

"Guess I better find a way out of here." Naruto though aloud as he began to wander through the sewer. Instead of finding an exit, he comes across a room that has what looks like a giant cage where the only thing keeping the bars closed is a piece of paper that had kanji for "seal" on it. Beyond the bars he could see only darkness and a faint silhouette that seemed to be doing something. Slowly creeping up to the bars, Naruto could almost make out faint whispers that the giant was making.

"**I've been waiting and preparing for this day for so long so why do I feel so nervous? I just hope the kit understands or my plans for our survival will be ruined.**"

"Um… Hello?"

Being caught unawares and surprised does not do well for one's image. Thankfully the darkness kept Naruto from seeing how a giant demon lord was startled by him. But he did end up seeing red glowing eyes open wide. Too bad Naruto wouldn't know that they had opened wide because of surprise instead of some form of intimidation that would make Naruto step back only to fall on his butt. Both were thoroughly embarrassed but too proud to admit it and at least one of them took the opportunity to break the awkward silence.

"**Greetings, young one, it is good to finally meet my vessel.**"

"Ah! Who or what are you?"

"**Some one who knows why you are hated and along with telling you I can also offer you something that might make things easier. Before you decide to decline please hear me out since my helping you would benefit both of us.**" Hearing this Naruto wisely closed his mouth and waited for what the giant would say next. "Good. Three years ago the great demon lord Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked Konohagakure because their actions had provoked the Kyuubi..."

"What did they do?"

"A group of the village's shinobi had attacked and killed the Kyuubi's mate and kits. There were a few corpses bearing the village's symbol on their headbands. In a rage, the Kyuubi retaliated against Konoha. Sadly the Kyuubi was ignorant of the cries various ninja made. Quite a number of them kept asking why the Kyuubi was attacking and many were grief stricken. If the Kyuubi had paid attention then the number of those massacred that night would have been much less. Sadly the only one who was able to stop the Kyuubi was the Yondaime."

"Didn't he kill the Kyuubi at the cost of his own life?"

"Not quite, young one. He did indeed sacrifice is his own life to save the village but he could not kill the Kyuubi. No one could. Instead he sealed the Kyuubi into the only vessel strong enough to contain a being of such power. That vessel was a newborn baby since the newborn's chakra coils would have yet to settle. By having the Kyuubi sealed inside the child, the child's coils would be able to form around the Kyuubi and grow use to having such a powerful being sealed inside the baby's body. In doing this, the Yondaime Hokage entrusted the safety of the village to that child and wished for everyone to view the child as a hero. Sadly they do not." A lone tear was shed and Naruto could hear it fall as if symbolizing the final piece explaining why he is hated fall into place. Fortunately he was already sitting or he would have fallen on his butt as the revelation felt so overwhelming.

"So that means I'm the child that the Kyuubi was sealed inside and I guess that makes you the Kyuubi, huh? Why me though?"

"Well he certainly couldn't ask some one else to give up their own new born child when he has you."

"Does that mean?"

"Yes it does. Now do you see? He wouldn't be much of a hokage if he chose some other baby. Also I think at some level he knew the reason why I attacked and chose to do what he did as a way of giving me a second chance. By raising you as my own, I would regain something that was lost and repent by helping you become a great person. Maybe even become Hokage like your father. The choice is yours and with your permission I can do many things to your body. Just remember that while I may be a demon I always keep my word and I promise that I will never purposefully harm you in any way shape or form."

Naruto looked at the Kyuubi trying to sense for any deceit but couldn't find any. To find out who his father is and what his father did to him was almost too much to handle. The offer Kyuubi made seemed so tempting but it wouldn't do any good to just rush into things without thinking. "If I do accept your offer, then what happens?"

"That'll be up to you. This seal is mainly designed for containing me and slowly having your body absorb my chakra as you grow older and stronger. However there seems to be two unique qualities to the seal. First, whenever you are injured my chakra can be used to heal your wounds and help you survive whatever treatment you may have to deal with. Second, it would seem that I can make changes to your body provided I have your permission to do so. In other words, if you desire to alter your body to create a new identity for you to use or obtain a kekkei genkai, then I would be able to do so provided I have your permission."

"Kekkei genkai?"

"It is a special ability that only a person of a particular clan can use. The Uchiha's have their Sharingan while the Hyuuga's have their Byakugan."

"What are those?"

"They are special abilities that can only be performed by some one who is born in either clan. If you wanted I could create a kekkei genkai for you to use that your descendants would be able to wield."

"Wouldn't that be like cheating?"

"Perhaps, but look at it this way. A kekkei genkai is a built in ability that can be very useful provided the one who has it uses it properly. Even the most powerful kekkei genkai would be useless if not used properly. If you allowed it I could even make it to where you'll become the next Kyuubi no Kitsune and then you'll have access to a kekkei genkai available to only my clan."

"Won't that mean I'll become a demon?"

"Yes, but you must understand that becoming a demon won't make you any different than how you are now. The only real difference is that you'll become immortal the moment you get all nine tails and have the ability to shape shift your human body at will. Your fox form would be unchangeable except for the size. So you could go from being as small as a common house cat to being as big as Gamabunta."

"Who's Gamabunta?"

"Gamabunta is a giant toad that can be summoned by some one who has written their name in blood on the toad summoning contract. I'll be sure to teach you about summoning along with various other things I've learned while posing as a human at a later time. You'd be surprised what I've managed to learn through the millenniums that I've lived. For now though, I merely wish for you to consider my offer of a kekkei genkai and perhaps consider becoming my heir to the title of Kyuubi no Kitsune."

"Your title? You mean that's not your real name?"

Laughing softly, the Kyuubi responded. "No it is not. My real name is Akahana."

"Red rose? You mean you're a girl?" Shock could be heard as well as seen on Naruto's face.

"Yes. I have kept those facts hidden from the world since I'd hardly get respect from anyone if they knew. They just assumed I was male and I've let them think that way ever since."

"Oh. Well you sure have a pretty name."

Thankfully, Akahana was mostly hidden in darkness and covered by red fur or Naruto would have seen her blush. "Thank you."

"So what now?"

"Well I would like to hear your response to my offer of help. Know this though, I may be helping you but how far you'll go will be up to you and you alone. With my help, you could even become the first female hokage if you so desired. Where the only things I'd be responsible for is the change in gender and the knowledge I'd have available for you to use. The rest would depend on your will to reach that goal. Though considering who you father was I'm sure you can do it and maybe even surpass him."

Now understand, with Naruto being as young as he is and treated the way he has been, it is rather obvious that such an idea would sound rather appealing. After all, things like surpassing his father and being the first to do something great at the same time would certainly be worthwhile to the three year old Naruto. Also if he understood things right, if he became Akahana's heir he could be looked up to for being what everyone viewed him as instead of hated. It might even mean that she'd be like a mother to him that would never leave him, harm him, or hate him. With this in mind, Naruto made his choice.

"I'll do it."

The smile on Akahana's face couldn't begin to describe how happy she felt when she heard those words. Granted she could sense Naruto's thoughts but to actually hear him agree made all the difference. The two of them worked out the details of Naruto's new life and carefully considered what to tell the others who were in the room when Naruto awoke. Of course Akahana had a good laugh when she got to see Naruto's face upon mentioning that the time they spent together in Naruto's mind would only seem like a few minutes to everyone outside. Although she did worry about Naruto's look of mischievousness when he learned that he'd have a lot of time to think of various pranks to plan out for a number of people. Fortunately she got him to change the scenery before he was to awaken. The result was a beautiful forest full of lush green grass and many trees with cherry blossoms in full bloom. A few petals even floated around in the wind that was softly blowing through the forest. There was even a small stream of water starting from a waterfall and led to a small lake as well as snow capped mountains in the distance. At the time the sky was a star filled sky with a beautiful full moon. The finishing touch was taking Akahana's cage and turning it into a collar that had a silver tag with the paper seal attached to it. Silver bordered the paper as if it were placed inside a portrait frame. Needless to say, Akahana was stunned to see such beauty. Fortunately she adjusted her form to that of a beautiful woman with red hair that reached her ankles and she wore an elegant purple kimono decorated with little crimson foxes. Her red-slit eyes, fox ears and tails which were black with red tips were the only signs of being not human. Before leaving she gave Naruto a much needed hug that both needed and the tears of happiness from both of their eyes certainly proved it. Akahana just hoped that things would go well outside of Naruto's mind as they had inside it.

-----------

"Ugh. What hit me?"

"A mob of angry villagers who need to get their eyes checked." Anko stated flatly only to get curious looks aimed at her. "What?"

"How are you feeling Naruto?"

"Just fine old man. I finally got to learn why everyone hated me and Kyuubi offered to help me become Hokage like my dad."

Shocked silence was the only response Naruto got for a moment until Sarutobi decided to speak up.

"You mean you've spoken with the Kyuubi?"

"Yeah, and I was able to learn the reason for the attack. Apparently we provoked the Kyuubi by killing the fox's family. But who would want to send ninja to kill the family of some one like the Kyuubi?"

'Who indeed.' This was the thought that ran through everyone's head. "How is the Kyuubi sure it was Konoha that did such an action?"

"There were some dead ninja in the Kyuubi's home and they each had headbands with the leaf symbol on them. They also had blood on their bodies that belonged to the fox's family." Now everyone in the room could understand where the Kyuubi was coming from by attacking Konohagakure. They'd be upset too if some one sent ninjas to kill their family. Though it did raise the question of who was stupid enough to attack the Kyuubi's family. For now, the fact that Naruto had a talk with the Kyuubi was distressing enough but there was the fact that the Kyuubi had offered Naruto something. Granted the Kyuubi only offered to help him become Hokage like his father… Wait a minute…

"Naruto-kun, did you say that the Kyuubi offered to help you become Hokage like your father?" Itachi queried with an obvious hint of interest in his voice. Fortunately for the Sandaime everyone was paying attention to Naruto or they would have seen the look of surprise and sad resignation at having to reveal what he knew of Naruto's parents. He had hoped to wait for the appropriate time to reveal things but it seemed that events forced his hand.

"Yep, and while I'm not exactly happy with him I at least understand why he did what he did before he died."

Sarutobi felt some relief from hearing that response though he had a feeling that he was going to have one serious headache later. Too bad for him that the feeling was pretty accurate since Gai, Anko, Ibiki, and even Itachi weren't too happy to find out the secret that Sarutobi had been keeping. Finding out that the child of the Yondaime was actually alive certainly rocked their world but to find out that the child was used to contain the Kyuubi certainly flared their tempers. When they thought back to how Naruto was treated, it made them think that they didn't do enough damage to the mob that they dispersed and it was only Naruto himself that got them to calm down and stay for what was mentioned next. After Naruto explained things, everyone was rather thankful that the Sandaime had some sake hidden away in the room.

"So let me get this straight? You're going to allow the Kyuubi to change your gender just so you could become the first female Hokage?" The disbelief was obvious on Anko's face.

"I'd be more concerned about the kekkei genkai that the Kyuubi is offering." Itachi looked on passively as he lightly sipped on the sake he held in his hand.

"Perhaps it would be best if you explained it to us again Naruto." Ibiki stated with calm curiosity.

"Alright, but if I have to say it again I'll just learn how to write it down in a scroll and you can read it as many times as you like." This response got a couple chuckles and a smirk or smile from everyone. "While it doesn't have a name yet, this doujutsu starts out like the Sharingan yet instead of just three tomoes, there is in fact four tomoes that surround the pupil. The iris doesn't become red like the Sharingan, but in fact becomes purple in color. While the difference in color is mainly cosmetic the extra tomoe is not. It instead allows the eyes a sort of zoom function allowing them to be like a pair of built in binoculars that would increase the distance of how far the eyes can see. The ability to detect chakra is improved as well. After the eyes develop all four tomoes there is a wait period of one year before extra abilities become active. One such ability would be to see through things like the Byakugan, and the side effect of that would allow the user to see in almost every direction where the blind spot would slowly decrease with prolonged use. Instead of bulging veins that would signify activation of the Byakugan, this doujutsu would cause the whites of the eyes to become black. There are other abilities that can be used and their use is signified when the eyes have all four tomoes converge on the pupil. The pupil would change from black to the purple color of the iris while there would be a circle of black surrounding the pupil where the only color inside is the pupil. On the outer edge of the circle would be the points of the four tomoes that would almost touch the outer edge of the iris. The appearance would be like that of a unique four point shuriken with a purple background. Only when deactivated down to the regular four tomoes surrounding the pupil or deactivated altogether will the whites of the eyes return to normal. Now apparently the other abilities that can be used involve some high powered jutsus that need to be used sparingly and only in emergencies. They consume a lot of chakra so it wouldn't be wise to be careless with using them."

"So what do you plan to name this new doujutsu that Kyuubi's going to give you?"

"I'm sure I'll think of something. If not then I could always ask for help."

"A most youthful decision Naruto. I look forward to seeing your flames of youth explode!"

"Right, well the first thing that I need to do is find a place to let the whole process happen without interruptions since the villagers wouldn't just sit by and watch me get my body changed by the Kyuubi."

"I'm sure we can handle that Naruto. However are you sure you wish to maintain the image of being Naruto Uzumaki when you will no doubt have a new life to live due to your new identity?" Sarutobi inquired as he nursed his sake while looking contemplative.

"There are a number of reasons why the village must think that Naruto Uzumaki is still alive. One of them is to deprive those who would celebrate my absence should they think I ran away or died."

"Very well, however, I am curious as to what name you wish to use for your new identity?"

Anyone who looked at Naruto's face during that moment would have thought they were looking at a wise old man thinking of something very important. It almost seemed like forever before he responded.

"Kaiya sounds like a nice choice."

"Forgiveness? An odd choice for some one who wishes to become Hokage someday, yet I feel that it fits well with how things will be in the future."

Little did they know of what to expect of things to come. Fortunately the transformation process was completed without a hitch and upon completion everyone was able to see the results. The changes made were minimal and the only notable differences were gender and the spot which they could only conclude was the place for the kekkei genkai. Taking a look at Naruto, one could almost fail to recognize him since the whisker marks were removed and the hair went from sun-kissed blonde to moon-kissed white. The eyes remained the same sort of blue they were before and still held the look of a maelstrom in them. The rest of the body didn't look all that different aside from the obvious change in equipment between the legs. Everyone wasn't sure whether to be thankful that one of them was a woman who could teach the new girl the finer points that she would need to learn, or be afraid that the one doing the teaching was Anko. At least the new kekkei genkai seemed to have been set up without problems. Granted there was only one tomoe in each eye but it certainly was a welcomed relief thanks to the fact that the doujutsu could help 'Naruto' avoid being attacked by anymore mobs. They could only hope the idea for maintaining the appearance of Naruto Uzumaki inside the village would actually work the way they want. Or rather the way 'Naruto' and Kyuubi want it to work out. Time will only tell.

--- [Flashback Kai ---

Putting the finishing touches on 'his' masterpiece, 'Naruto' was just about to sneak away unnoticed until a couple chuunin saw 'him' and what he was doing. Obviously displeased they gave chase until 'Naruto' gave them the slip.

Chuckling softly Naruto watched the two chuunin go. "This is getting almost too easy."

"Oh yeah, Naruto?"

"Ah! Iruka-sensei!"

If the look on Iruka's face was any indication then it was safe to say he was upset. Then again being tied up and carried back to the academy would be a pretty obvious sign of his emotional state. After the scolding and reminder of how 'Naruto' has been failing the academy everyone was forced to do a review of the henge.

"Sakura Haruno."

Performing the henge, Sakura transformed into a perfect copy of Iruka only to try and get Sasuke's attention to hopefully see him be impressed with her success.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

Nonchalantly walking up and performing the henge, Sasuke transformed into yet another Iruka look a like. Upon releasing the jutsu he still had the look on his face as if trying to say that it was no challenge.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"Troublesome."

"This isn't fair. We always pay for your screw ups, Naruto."

"This coming from a fan-girl." Needless to say only Shikamaru caught the meaning to the words while Ino imitated a fish only to fume quietly since 'Naruto' already walked up in front of Iruka. Only Iruka caught the tiny smirk that appeared and before he could do anything…

"Henge."

After the smoke cleared, Iruka got quite the eyeful of the sexy no jutsu that 'Naruto' invented for weeding out perverts. The sight of Iruka being launched backwards by a nosebleed was certainly amusing. At least, that was until he unleashed his big head no jutsu and yelled at 'Naruto' to stop such useless and stupid tricks. Too bad he never saw the number of shinobi that were brought down by this jutsu whenever 'Naruto' was outside the village. Then he certainly wouldn't call the jutsu or its advanced version useless. Unfortunately, he wasn't in the know and as punishment, made 'Naruto' clean the paint off the Hokage monument.

"You're not going home until you clean off every bit of paint, Naruto."

"It's not like it matters. I don't exactly have anyone waiting at home for me, you know!"

Grimacing at his slip up, "Hey, Naruto, when you finish up I'll treat you to ramen at Ichiraku's tonight."

Almost instantly, a smile could be seen on the face of the 'boy' cleaning the four faces. "Great idea, Iruka-sensei! You certainly know how to motivate some one. I'll have this place cleaned in no time."

In what literally seemed like no time at all the four faces were cleaned of the amusing paintjob that had only hours before, decorated the monument. The Shodaime no longer looked embarrassed to be related to the Nidaime who looked like he was trying to make people laugh. The Sandaime didn't look like he was in tears seeing his predecessors in such a state while the Yondaime wasn't blushing at a rather peculiar silhouette residing near his face. Each face also had some silly doodles or childish decorations to fill in the spaces not used for the main expressions. Now though, they were cleaned of the pain and actually seemed to be in better condition than how they were before being painted. Too bad, no one noticed or appreciated the efforts of the one responsible. The only reward that 'Naruto' received for 'his' efforts were a few bowls of ramen, courtesy of Iruka-sensei.

"Naruto, what made you do that to the Hokage faces? I mean you know who the Hokages are right?"

"Of course I do, Iruka-sensei. The Hokages are the best ninjas of the village and they risk their lives to keep the whole village safe. Just like how the 4th Hokage sacrificed his life to keep everyone safe from peril."

"So why'd you do it then?"

"Because one day I'll be hokage, and I'll be sure to surpass all of the hokages that came before me. Uh, sensei, could I ask you a favor?"

"What you want another bowl?"

"No not that. I was wondering if I could try on your headband?"

"What this thing? Sorry Naruto but you can only wear the leaf headband when you graduate from the academy."

"Ah man, I want another bowl."

Iruka's laughter could be heard in the night as he and 'Naruto' enjoy their time together without a care in the world. Ignorant to what will happen tomorrow…

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 2

Forgiveness of a Kitsune

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did then there would have been serious changes made to the story.**

Chapter 2

Beep… Beep… Beep… Bezzz…

Yet another alarm clock faces its untimely end at the hands of Konohagakure's Jinchuuriki. That is the price they pay for awakening the village hero before she is ready and they respect their fallen comrades for falling in the line of duty. What can be salvaged is saved for spare parts while the rest is given a proper burial. Getting herself ready was the same as usual. Get out of bed. Get a quick shower in despite how the water would be cold and hardly seem clean. Eat breakfast and then be sure to brush her teeth. Only to be reminded of the face and gender she now has thanks to the lesson her new mother had her learn. Funny on how a demon can promise not to harm some one but still be able to trick them. Ever since then, she learned to be careful with her words when making deals, contracts, or any sort of agreements with anyone no matter who or what they are. Though she still wears her new identity like some weird battle scar, she gets a kick out of testing her new mother's sanity when she toys with her ability to shape shift. Then again seeing the looks on the faces of Anko, Gai, Ibiki, Sarutobi, and even the stoic Itachi were priceless when she revealed what she can do. Like opening her jaw wide enough to get the more difficult places to clean her teeth while combing her hair to smooth it out before securing it with a ribbon Akahana provided her when she let her hair become long. Slip on the horrid orange jumpsuit that is only worn because that's the only thing the shopkeepers would sell to her as she posed as Naruto Uzumaki. Then finally summon a kage bunshin to make sure that the genjutsu tag she has on is working properly. Getting confirmation from the clone she dispels her doppelganger and rushes to the academy to yet again fail the graduation exam.

'Maybe this time he'll slip up and I can finally prove to the old man that I was right.'

Walking into the academy, she couldn't help but be reminded of her days at the academy and the fun times she had with everyone. While keeping up the charade was difficult at times, it became easier when a handful of her classmates started helping her after they discovered her secret. The first person to find out was Hinata who had caught her removing the tag that she uses to disguise herself as Naruto Uzumaki. At first she had to calm down the hysterical Hyuuga heir and then explain things. Fortunately it didn't take much to convince Hinata to keep it a secret and they became good friends afterwards. The next to confront her was Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, and even Shino. Apparently Kiba got annoyed that he constantly smelled a female scent on 'Naruto' and bugged Shino to help him. They came across Shikamaru and Chouji as they searched for 'Naruto' and somehow got the lazy Nara to join up with the Akimichi tagging along. It didn't take long for them to find 'Naruto' and confront 'him.' When one of Shino's bugs found the tag, 'Naruto' had no choice but to let the cat out of the bag. They didn't the whole thing left them feeling like she didn't trust them to know but their bonds of friendship was mended later. She just had to do some things to make it up to them and having them as her friends again was certainly worth it. Now if only she could get Sasuke to stop acting like he has a tree up his butt. Maybe even get the fan-girls to wake up and become actual kunoichi instead of just some insult that makes other kunoichi look bad. Unfortunately, both goals seem to be equal in difficulty to somewhere between her getting enough chakra control to pull off Tsunade's secret strength technique or finally managing to get Gai and his clone to stop wearing the green spandex. The former is possible if enough effort is put into the needed training. The latter though may as well be a lost cause unless some sort of divine intervention occurs. She just wished that Gai wouldn't make another challenge where he actually wore pink spandex when he lost. The fact that he went on a mission wearing that got her rather worried since the thing practically screamed the same thing as the horrid orange jumpsuit she wore. "I'm here, please kill me!!!" It was a relief to find out that the mission was actually only a D-rank. She could have sworn that Anko was smirking sadistically when the dango-addict told her that. Revenge was hers when she "accidentally" missed the target and the kunai she was throwing had coincidentally bounced off the surroundings and landed near the spot where Anko was sitting. Before Anko could laugh at her mistake a distinct hissing sound was heard and it was only due to the Jounin's speed that she was able to escape. It was only when the flash tag went off did she find out that she'd been played for a fool.

Snickering a little at the memory, she rubbed a couple places as a reminder of the pain that came later. Sometimes it just doesn't pay to have such fast healing. Calmly, sitting down she waited for when everyone would come in and hope that Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei would show up right afterwards. The fan-girls were getting rowdy and that's never a good thing when a certain pink haired one is rather violent enough as it is. Bit of a mystery on how that works since she seems to have very little chakra in her, yet she's actually standing and her punches certainly hurt.

Rumble… rumble… rumble…

"Safe!" Chorused strawberry and vanilla, cough, Sakura and Ino. Both of them rushed to the empty seat by Sasuke, not caring about who gets in their way.

"Sakura-chan!"

"Move it, Naruto!"

Reveling in her victory of being the one to sit by Sasuke, Sakura pestered him about a date or something as everyone else filed in and sat down. Fortunately, Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei before anything serious happened. Too bad the class wasn't quiet since Iruka-sensei felt it necessary to use his big head no jutsu. 'I really need to learn how he does that.' Yet another jutsu gets added to the list of jutsus that 'Naruto' desires to learn. However, now wasn't the time to be asking how to perform what had to be a D or E ranked jutsu. There is a graduation to be taken and failed so as to hopefully catch a certain chuunin who's been giving off a feeling of greed for power. Granted the old man didn't really believe her at first but he decided to give her the benefit of a doubt and agreed to her plan. The only good thing about it is that if she is wrong she'll be allowed to take the graduation exam again with the provision that she stop disguising herself. If it weren't for Kurenai's assurances that 'Naruto' was in fact mentally stable, then he might have had sent 'Naruto' to a psychiatric facility for treatment. Regardless, Sarutobi hoped that if 'Naruto' was right about Mizuki, then she would be cautious in handling things. After all she has to downplay her skills and that could get her killed. For now he would simply watch events as they play out. That and deal with all the damn paperwork.

Walking into the room, 'Naruto' could see a table covered by leaf headbands and sitting behind that table was Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei. Both of them looked a little bored, but then again they've had to deal with quite a number of graduates perform the same sequence of academy jutsus.

"Now Naruto, please perform henge, kawarimi, and at least three bunshin." The boredom in Iruka-sensei's voice was rather obvious, but 'Naruto' couldn't blame him since she nearly fell asleep during the written part of the graduation exam. She couldn't help but feel insulted at the difficulty of the test. If the test was any indication then their standards for new ninja must have really declined over the years. Regardless, 'Naruto' performed the first two jutsus without any problems. Though Mizuki did throw a kunai at 'Naruto' but all he hit was the chair that 'Naruto' had switched places with. The bunshin however resulted in three sickly looking mockeries of the original that looked crappy enough to fail.

"You fail!" Iruka-sensei shouted with an obvious hint of exasperation and disappointment.

"Iruka-sensei, he did perform the jutsu. We could cut him a break and pass him."

While Iruka-sensei gave his reasons for not passing 'Naruto,' Sarutobi couldn't help but think that he might need to check and see if the other chuunin instructors are as lax as Mizuki. If so then there's going to be some serious changes made before anyone else graduates from the academy. No way is he going to let those he considers family lost their lives simply because the instructors were lax in their duties. He could feel the sadness well in him as he watched 'Naruto' glumly wander off and sit on the swing in front of the academy as those who graduated were celebrating with their families. A small bit of anger rose up when he saw their scorn and heard their words. It was a good thing for them that his kage bunshin had been the one to fetch Iruka for a talk. He had to keep an eye on 'Naruto' after all. Especially since Mizuki played right into the trap 'Naruto' set up.

After Mizuki's talk of the 'secret' to retaking the graduation exam with a live exercise, she couldn't help but feel that it would be best to have a chat with the old man. He certainly wouldn't approve of her just going through with it and taking such a great risk. Her plans are dependant on the fact that no one but a select few knows that she was once Naruto Uzumaki. Fortunately those who know can be pretty tight lipped when they want and the only document that can tell anyone what happened is locked and sealed. Despite how one member of the group is classified as a missing-nin, security of the secret is tight and secure. For now…

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Apparently it wasn't all that hard to get the old man to agree to the plan but he had added the condition of having an ANBU squad nearby just in case there were more people involved. That and to keep anyone from dieing. Mizuki may have been a traitor but it would be better to keep him alive. Ibiki would certainly be happy. The only problem with the whole thing is that everyone who knew had to act like nothing was wrong. That didn't appeal to the old man since the means of subduing him would be rather embarrassing for everyone involved. Sarutobi was beginning to consider labeling the Orioke no jutsu as a kinjutsu. Too bad the Scroll of Sealing was in the hands of a certain academy student who purposefully failed the academy's graduation exam. If she deserved anything for her ability to fool an entire village, then it would have to be a place among the ninja of Konoha. Though he will have to ask what she did on one of her surprise vacations outside the village. Upon her return she seemed rather subdued and a little of her mood slipped out through her disguise. It was a good thing that the timing around that moment worked to her benefit so that her mood was easily explained. That will have to wait until after the night's event concludes. Hopefully she will use responsibility in handling her inheritance…

Sitting down at the designated rendezvous point, she opened the scroll and carefully viewed the jutsus written inside. "It's amazing how Mizuki's greed for power has him resorting to such methods when he could have simply trained hard and did research on various training methods to try." She thought aloud as she looked over various jutsus that you wouldn't just trust anyone with. Some weren't so bad aside from how they require more chakra than most people can produce. Like a certain medical jutsu that Tsunade developed for healing fellow ninja on the battlefield. Unfortunately only some one with massive reserves and amazing control could wield it effectively and without risking their lives using it. An errant thought of some one like Orochimaru having an orgasm if the scroll fell into their hands. This caused a few snickers and anyone observing would question her sanity. Though the fact that some one with a greed for power desired the very scroll in her hands was a very sobering thought and it forced her to prepare for when Mizuki would show up. Better to look weak and worn out than to deal with what might happen if Mizuki got suspicious.

When 'Naruto' sensed some one coming 'he' made sure to be ready. Nothing could prepare 'him' for sensing Iruka-sensei and 'he' worried about whether or not Iruka was a part of the whole thing.

"Found you, Naruto!" Iruka shouted in a rather accusing manner, which relieved 'Naruto' a little.

"Hey look I found the nose bleeder!" This startled Iruka for a second and caught the ANBU off guard, but not enough that they'd slip up and reveal themselves.

"No I found you, Naruto! What have you been doing out here and what possessed you to steal the forbidden scroll?"

'You certainly have an interesting choice of words, Iruka-sensei.' "Mizuki-sensei told me that if I got the scroll and showed you a jutsu that I learned from it, then you'd pass me and I can finally become a ninja."

"What? Mizuki told you?"

"Uh-huh. He told how to get the scroll and about this place and…" 'Naruto' didn't need any more conformation of Iruka's innocence when 'he' saw the look on Iruka's face. Dawning realization of what was really going on could be seen written all over his face. This brought even more relief to 'Naruto' and made it easier for Iruka to shove 'him' out of the way of the kunai that would have hit 'him.' Instead Iruka got pinned the old shack as Mizuki came out of hiding.

"It seems you found him before me, Iruka. Naruto, give me the scroll."

"No, Naruto, don't give Mizuki the scroll! He was just using you to get the scroll and use it for his own purposes."

'Obviously…'

"Naruto, do you know why everyone hates you? Why they despise you for just being alive?"

"No, don't tell him Mizuki! It's forbidden."

"What do you know about it?" 'Why would he think to use that information?' '**Maybe he expects you to freeze up so bad that he can kill you by using one of those large shuriken behind his back.**' 'Makes sense.'

"Twelve years ago, the 4th Hokage seal the Kyuubi no Kitsune inside a baby and that baby was you, Naruto. You are the nine-tailed fox that killed Iruka's parents!"

One thought went through the heads of nearly everyone except for Iruka and Mizuki… 'Idiot.'

"Moron. I already know all about that, and you're wrong about me being the Kyuubi." 'I don't have all nine-tails yet.' Snickering could be heard inside the mind of 'Naruto.' "I'm me and the fox is the Kyuubi!"

Needless to say everyone but the observing Hokage was shocked to hear this. The 'boy' already knew and yet he still wanted to protect the village by becoming Hokage? Naruto certainly gained the respect of the ANBU and Iruka that night. Too bad Mizuki didn't care and decided to attack. What he didn't count on however was Iruka getting free and blocking the large shuriken with his back. This shocked 'Naruto' greatly since Iruka always seemed like a father figure despite how he didn't exactly do a good job of trying to fix what may have been wrong with 'Naruto' and 'his' studies. Thus leaving 'Naruto' stock still as Iruka explained how his life at the academy was like and how he saw himself in 'Naruto.' Once 'Naruto' was over the shock 'he' made an effort to lead Mizuki away from the injured Iruka. This lasted until Iruka disguising himself as 'Naruto' confronted Mizuki who had disguised himself as Iruka.

"How did you know it was me…" Mizuki said as the henge dispelled. "and not Iruka?"

Iruka still disguised as 'Naruto' chuckled before saying, "Because I'm Iruka."

Mentally berating Iruka for his actions, 'Naruto' sat behind a tree as 'he' decided to plan 'his' next step. Fortunately the conversation between Iruka and Mizuki bought 'him' some time. Though, Iruka's speech did bring 'him' to tears knowing that 'his' sensei respects and acknowledges 'him.' Mizuki's next words sobered 'him' up quickly and forced 'his' hand into action.

"Well Iruka, I was going to spare killing you under after I got the scroll from Naruto, but it seems I've changed my mind." Taking the large shuriken from his back, Mizuki charged the downed chuunin.

'So this is it, huh? Well Naruto, I hope you'll be okay. I'm sorry I won't be there to see you achieve your dreams.' Iruka closed his eyes as if resigning himself to death, only for them to open wide with surprise as he watched an orange blur intercept Mizuki.

"Don't you dare lay a hand on my sensei, or I'll kill you!" 'Naruto' shouted loudly and with enough killing intent to make Mizuki pause to consider his actions. What was most surprising to everyone who could sense it was that there was no trace of the Kyuubi's chakra in the strong amount of killing intent.

"Just try it, nine-tails, I'll crush you with one blow!" Mizuki boasted as if trying to reassure himself.

"Bring it on and I'll return it a thousand fold." Forming 'his' hands into a cross shaped seal 'Naruto' performed the jutsu that would be later viewed as 'his' signature move. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

Almost instantaneously the whole forest was covered in orange. Everyone was so shocked to see so many kage bunshins that they almost missed what happened next.

"Hey Mizuki-teme! I thought you said you were going to wipe me out with one blow." All of the kage bunshins smirked confidently as they looked ready to attack at any moment. "If you're not going to attack, then we will!"

Mizuki's cries of pain could be heard throughout the forest and the ANBU felt it best to hang back and not ruin the moment. Mizuki certainly wasn't going anywhere any time soon. So instead they watched as Iruka congratulated his student for graduating, and observed as the two carried the scroll of sealing back to the Hokage tower before celebrating over ramen. After 'Naruto' and Iruka left, they directed their attention to the traitorous Mizuki and hauled his butt over to Ibiki.

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Arriving home with a contented feeling, she couldn't help but think over the events that occurred after the one that caused her to graduate. She knew and understood that she wasn't a full fledged genin yet. Still the fact that she graduated meant the she earned her shot at becoming a kunoichi of Konohagakure. She was a little disappointed that she'd still be listed as the dead last but at least the old man agreed to have her as an unregistered ninja of the leaf village. It took a little explaining but eventually he understood what could happen if the information available fell into the wrong hands. Though she did have to agree with the idea that he keeps a private record that would only be used against her should she betray Konoha. Even she understood the logic with that and accepted the condition. Iruka didn't exactly like being lied to and felt like she betrayed his trust but after a bit of talking he got over it. The extra large bowl of his favorite ramen kind of made things easier too. After he was in a better mood, he made sure to let her know that she would need to show up at the academy for team assignment. Although she could guess she'd be stuck with the Uchiha there was still hope that the third member of their team wouldn't be a fan-girl. Hopefully, when she becomes Hokage she can start making changes to how things are done. It may be a long road ahead of her but she certainly won't back down. For now she needs to get her rest and be ready for tomorrow. Before she fell asleep and dreamed of the future, she had one conscious thought. 'I wonder if the uncle Saru liked the present I gave him?'

Naruto Uzumaki may have faded into the shadows that night, but in his place was Kaiya, future hokage of Konohagakure and soon to be legendary kunoichi!


	4. Chapter 3

Forgiveness of a Kitsune

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did then there would have been serious changes made to the story.**

Chapter 3

"You could at least smile you know." The photographer complained as he looked at Kaiya's stoic face. She may get to be an unregistered ninja of the village but the Hokage still wanted her picture for the private record. At least then those who may have to be sent after her would know what she looks like. Not that she blames him since blindly trusting some one can be a bad idea. Orochimaru would be a good example of that. Somehow his desire to learn and master the world of ninjutsu got twisted around and twisted him as a result. Sarutobi still holds out some hope that his wayward student will change. Kaiya only hoped that he doesn't get himself killed thinking that way about his student if the two of them have to fight someday.

"Just take the picture."

"Okay, but don't blame me if they make you redo it."

"I wouldn't worry about that."

Click… flash…

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"You could have at least smiled you know." Sarutobi stated to an eyebrow twitching Kaiya that was sitting in the chair.

"I also could have painted my face in some elaborate design and made myself look like a fool in the picture that would no doubt have to be retaken."

'She's got a point.' "True. Though I'm curious as to why you wore your headband in the picture and you are now wearing your goggles?" The 3rd practically pointed at them with his pipe.

Kaiya fiddled with her goggles a little while lightly chuckling at the memories of how she got them. While her 'Naruto' persona wore those green goggles that the old man had given as a gift, she had in fact designed a new pair of goggles for when she got to be herself.

The goggles didn't seem like much at first glance. They looked more like some one tried took half of a blank metal plate that would normally go on a leaf headband and carved intimidating eyeholes into the metal (sort of like the eyeholes of Haku's mask). If one looked closely at the eyeholes, then one would see a black lens behind the metal plate. Most would think the lens would be there to simply keep things from slipping through the eyeholes and harming the eyes. The plate was surrounded by black material that would prevent the dull gray metal from digging into the skin. There was even a black version of the same material that kept her green goggles on her head all those years. It was a pain designing them but it worked out in the end. With an application of chakra, the lenses would glow blue and anyone wearing them would notice some key differences with how they see things.

First, things would appear to be brighter and there would be a subtle tinge of blue to everything. Second, would be that the temperature of something affect how much it stands out in the surrounding environment. Obviously anything generating heat would have difficulty hiding. Third and finally, even if the wearer is in pitch black darkness, the glow from the eyeholes would be able to provide a decent amount of illumination to see. Also if some one were to attempt to use the goggles against the wearer, then all one needed to do was cut off the flow of chakra to the goggles and the black lenses would fulfill their secondary duty. Act as sunglasses.

The lenses were specially designed so that the wearer could look at the sun itself without needing to squint or shield them. Fortunately, if some one were stupid enough to apply chakra to the goggles and look at the sun, then all they'd get is temporary blindness provided they aren't stupid enough to stare at what would be the equivalent of a long lasting and very bright flash from a flash bomb. For the moment, the only people using them were ANBU and they had nothing but good things to say about the goggles. One of them even got a good laugh out of scaring the crap of an A-ranked missing-nin that his squad captured. Then again the idiot was only A-ranked because he knew a few things that he wasn't suppose to know. Like what a certain woman likes to wear under her clothes as she works for the Tsuchikage. Nobody was sure who was the more embarrassed….

"I'm getting the blue cloth replaced with black. The store owner should be done and I'll have it back in a few more minutes."

"I see. So you just left your headband in the hands of some stranger and just how is it you expect to be getting it back in just a few more minutes?"

"Not really. To answer your question though, I'm still at the shop getting a few other things besides just new cloth for my headband."

"So then I'm speaking to a kage bunshin?"

"You got it! It's amazing what you can do with kage bunshins. I'm surprised that you never use them to deal with all the paperwork you get stuck with. Is the reason you don't use the jutsu because of some pride issue?"

This left the man known as "The Professor" to think one thought. 'Why didn't I think of that?' "Uh… Yes."

Narrowing her eyes at the old man she could practically smell his lie. "It didn't even cross your mind to consider using the jutsu, did it?"

"Hehehe…" Sarutobi was looking particular nervous as Kaiya responded to his guilt by forming a handsign that would certainly spell his doom.

"Henge!" The next thing Sarutobi saw not only surprised him but rendered him unconscious due to blood loss caused by the massive nosebleed. He obviously didn't expect Kaiya to look like the Orioke no jutsu version of Naruto Uzumaki since that would only cause the problems from even using the jutsu to escalate. It would be easy to explain it away as just something Naruto taught Kaiya before his untimely end. At least, it would be easier than the ruse they had to pull to make everyone think that Naruto Uzumaki died. Funny on how the villagers were more than willing to play a part in the grand scheme even though they didn't know squat about the plan. After that it was all too easy to reveal a few important secrets as well as blow some smoke up the butts of a few council members. The end result is that everyone felt ashamed for their treatment of Naruto Uzumaki, the son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. Granted there were still a few people who viewed Naruto as the demon and were in the right places to make Kaiya's life difficult even without them knowing or suspecting her of being Naruto. So it is a bit of a relief to know that her form while using the Orioke no jutsu is definitely different from the one she had while posing as Naruto.

Unfortunately for Sarutobi, the new form seems to share similarities with that of Tsunade. The fact that the differences only made the vision of paradise in front of him seem even sexier was not lost on the old man. He was at least conscious long enough to hear her scold him.

"It's not nice to lie about something like that Saru-kun."

After those words were spoken, Sarutobi was officially unable to make any blood donations for a while. All that blood rushing from his nostrils went to waste. Fortunately, the old man regained consciousness soon enough.

"That Orioke no jutsu is becoming too dangerous to use so carelessly. Don't do it again!"

Kaiya couldn't help but agree and comply with the 3rd's wishes. After all, she felt rather embarrassed about the increased potency of the jutsu as well as the fact that her jutsu could spell doom for even a kage. Leaving the kage vulnerable to the mercies of whoever performs the jutsu. The fact that even an academy student could learn and perform it is a disturbing thought. Before she could verbally agree with the 3rd's request however, a certain oddball opened the door and charged in proclaiming something about becoming the fifth hokage. Too bad the brat tripped on his blue scarf that might as well be a cape. And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse…

"What a trap?"

…It did.

"Young master, are you alright? And I must say that the floor is pretty flat for there to be a trap."

"Hey you, you tripped me didn't you?" The brat shouted accusingly towards Kaiya as she had stayed in her seat wondering just what was going on. At least, that is until his accusation registered and caused one of her eyebrows to rapidly twitch from normal position to having its tip touching the bottom of her goggles that were resting on her forehead.

'Huh, what business the Hokage has with this girl?'

"No I didn't. You tripped on that overgrown scarf that might as well be a cape!"

'Especially, since she seems to be rather vulgar.' Luckily for Ebisu, Kaiya can't read his mind.

Rushing up to Kaiya, the brat pointed his finger at her. "You tripped me, admit it!"

You'd think being the grandson of a hokage would have at least taught him a few things about being cautious with people you don't know a thing about. Too bad the brat didn't realize who he was talking to or he might have shown at least a little respect.

"Why you!" Kaiya grabbed his scarf and held him up.

"Unhand him! He is honorable grandson of the 3rd Hokage!"

'This kid is the grandson of the old man?' '**It is possible. They both wear unusual hats, though the brat's hat is more of a helmet.**'

"What a matter? Ya scared that the hokage is my grandfather?" 'Heh, she'll probably be just like everyone else. She won't touch me now that she knows who I am.'

"I don't care if he's your grandmother! Dattebayo!" Next thing anyone knew there was the sound of a finger flick to the forehead and the brat's back lightly hitting the desk.

'She's different...'

Sarutobi just raised an eyebrow as if to ask a number of questions all at once. Only to question just how Ebisu became a ninja as the man kept trying to register what happened in his mind. Especially since the man's shock let him fail to notice his charge following after Kaiya. After he left Sarutobi noticed a note in front of him.

_Sorry for hitting your grandson like that, uncle Saru. The brat was clearly asking for some one to fix his attitude and Iruka-sensei wasn't around to do it. Oh and I'm still working on the whole Tsunade strength technique. What you saw was the result of borrowing a little something from the Haruno. Apparently, despite coming from a civilian family she seems to have a unique trait in her genetics. It was a surprise to find out that her near perfect chakra control could actually be inherited by her kids. If she got married to some one from a clan that has naturally large chakra reserves or a bloodline, then I wouldn't be too surprised if their children become famously strong ninja. Though I'd recommend given them mandatory psychological exams to make sure they don't develop an inner self because of repressing their real selves while acting a certain way around other people. I'm not sure having them gain a strong resistance to certain forms of interrogation and torture would be worth the risk of having even more pink haired banshees. Anyways it's just something to think about._

Sarutobi couldn't help but chuckle a little after reading that. Though it was a little surprising to see she was able to write so much in such a short amount of time. Then again the paper seemed to be a little warm to the touch and he could have sworn he saw a little smoke rising from where she wrote. At least her hand writing was readable…

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It's kind of funny what a kage bunshin would feel like doing when its creator gives it plenty of chakra to last a while. Just walking around and admiring the village being one of them…

Now if only the brat would just stop following her, then she'd be able to enjoy her walk instead of feel insulted by the brat's skills. Or lack there of…

Finally having enough she pointed at the brat and shout. "That's so obvious it's not even funny." Her creator couldn't help but agree as she observed from the rooftops. She couldn't help but smile when the kid called her boss after he introduced himself. Granted he was talking to a kage bunshin but he didn't know that. Switching herself with her bunshin was easy enough and the kid never knew the difference. Now she had the task of hopefully teaching the kid something more than just the jutsu she used on the old man. It hasn't been labeled as a forbidden jutsu just yet so she couldn't be punished for teaching him. Hehehe…

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Sarutobi couldn't help but shiver as he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

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"Okay, the first thing about performing the Orioke no jutsu is that you need to know how to use your chakra and be able to perform the henge."

"That's it?"

"It's harder than it sounds, but it's easy once you got it down. For the first step I want you to try and transform into some one. You can do it right?"

"Of course, but who do I transform into?"

"Hm…" Looking around Kaiya noticed a red-haired lady in a nice kimono. "Try transforming into her." 'I just hope she doesn't get upset that I'm using her as an example. I may be a girl but she's definitely a more suitable attempt for this kind of thing. Good thing it wasn't pinkie or she'd beat the snot out of the both of us if the kid goofs up.'

"Henge!" Poof!

Kaiya couldn't help but be slightly impressed with the kid's burst of chakra… Only to feel insulted just looking at the result even though it wasn't her that he tried to transform into.

"Do I look like her?"

"Not really…" Kaiya stated flatly only to be replaced with a log just before the lady's fist hit the back of her head. Needless to say her actions properly scared the kid as she told him that he should try for a prettier version of her the next time he transforms into her. It was only when she left did Kaiya land behind him. "Well that could have gone better. Then again it could have been worse I guess. Are you ready for the next step?"

"Uh… Sure."

The two of them wandered away and towards a place that could provide them better research material.

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Jiraiya suddenly found himself with and army of angry kunoichi chasing him down after he mysteriously sneezed at one of the bath houses he was peeping at. Regardless, he hoped to survive the horde of angry women hunting him down. Where in the world they came up with some of the weapons they were wielding would forever remain a mystery.

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The place they visited next was the bookstore where Kaiya made her way in posing as Kakashi Hatake and purchased a magazine. She may have gotten a weird look aimed her way but considering Kakashi's reputation that was about all she got. It was a small price to pay for providing the research material that hopefully would be removed from his possession later on when he got home. No way was she going to be responsible for what might happen if she took him to a bath house. At least this way would be less painful. She may have to make up for it later but it sure beats being beaten by a horde of angry women. The righteous wrath of a female is to never be underestimated…

"So are you ready for the final step?"

"Yeah! So what do I need to do?"

"You need to practice and be sure to use all of what you've learned to master the Orioke no jutsu."

"Right boss! Henge!"

'This might take a while…'

---------

Nursing their drinks, Kaiya couldn't help but be impressed by the kid's determined attitude. There was just one thing she needed to figure out though.

"Just curious but why do they treat you like that?"

"It's because the Hokage is my grandfather. He named me Konohamaru after the village. It was suppose to make my name easier to remember but everyone just calls me the honorable grandson of the 3rd Hokage."

'I guess that explains things then. He seeks acknowledgement and thinks that becoming Hokage will do that.' Kaiya slightly smirks as she thinks. 'Not that I blame him though, but being Hokage isn't going to be easy for him if he keeps his current attitude.'

"I see. So then Konohamaru, I trust you know what you need to do in order to become Hokage, right?"

"You called me…" The shock on Konohamaru's face was priceless and might have normally been laughed at but it would have ruined what Kaiya needed to say next.

"In order to become Hokage you'll have to beat me in battle!" Kaiya declared with a look of fierce determination that practically screamed to Konohamaru that she would need to be taken seriously. 'At least this way I can be sure he'll take things seriously and if he does manage to defeat me, then this village will certainly have a strong Hokage.'

"There you are honorable grandson."

'Oh great. He just had to show himself. Way to go mister I've been here all along as I listen to my student complaining of the very thing I call him.'

Needless to say Konohamaru wasn't happy that Ebisu showed up and finally performed the Orioke no jutsu successfully. He was disappointed at the results though. 'Wonder if I should have told him about the pervert ranking system where the rank is determined by the pervert's reaction. This Ebisu seems to be a closet pervert if his "disreputable behavior" speech is any indication. I could have let his attitude slide were it not for the fact he called the Orioke no jutsu a vulgar technique.'

"That does it! Let the kid go or else!"

"Or else what? I am an elite jounin. You couldn't possibly do anything against me."

'Don't be so sure idiot.' "Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

The shock on Ebisu's face was priceless until he regained control over his emotions. 'So this is the girl who was said to take down Mizuki. The story of her being able to wield the kage bunshin no jutsu appears to be true. She must have very large chakra reserves if the number of clones she can create is any indication.'

"Mere kage bunshins won't be enough against me. I'm not like that chuunin Mizuki."

"You asked for it." The smirk on Kaiya's face made Ebisu rethink things before she and her clones shouted. "Henge!"

Ebisu couldn't help but be confused until the smoke cleared. Then he simply tried his hardest to maintain his composure. He lasted for less than five seconds. Considering the circumstances, it was certainly an impressive effort on his part. After Konohamaru's outburst of wondering why the jutsu didn't work and that he'd never be able to become Hokage at this rate, Kaiya had only this to say.

"You'd think that they'd just let you become Hokage? A Hokage is the best ninja of the village and protects everyone. To become Hokage, you not only have to become strong in mind and body but also gain the respect and acknowledgement of everyone in the village. Just look at me. I had to fight tooth and nail to get any respect at all. Soon enough though I found people who respected and acknowledged me for who I am. It's an indescribable feeling that's worth earning. To get that from a whole village won't be easy and just so you know. There are no shortcuts to becoming Hokage, Konohamaru."

Kaiya couldn't help but consider it cute how Konohamaru said that they were now rivals. However she respected him enough to not spoil the moment since she could practically sense him saluting her as she walked away. In a way it was a good feeling. She could almost imagine the two of them being older and he'd be saluting her as she wore the Hokage robes while walking to do something more important than paperwork.

---------

Sarutobi felt happy to know that Kaiya changed Konohamaru for the better. He just hoped that she would never use the harem jutsu on him. The Orioke no jutsu was powerful enough…

---------

After arriving home, Kaiya couldn't help but be amazed by the place. Sure she expected that she would need to move to a new residence but she didn't think she'd be given the very home that her parents owned. It was practically the equivalent if not larger than what was owned by one of Konoha's noble clans. The design of the whole place seemed carefully thought out as well. For the time being, the only drawback was that she needed to create a whole legion of kage bunshin to clean the place up. It may have been a pain to pull off but at least the place was habitable again. For now it would be best if she got some sleep. Tomorrow would be when she'd find out what team she'd be on and she'd wager that anyone stuck with the Uchiha would probably have Kakashi as the Jounin sensei. Hopefully he'll learn that it would be in his best interest to show up on time from now on. If his sanity survives Ibiki's authentication tests that is…

---------

The next day couldn't come fast enough for Kaiya. That's not to say she didn't get any sleep, but rather she practically bolted from her bed the moment the alarm went off. In mere moments all anyone could see in her room would be a blur until a hand rested on the doorknob to the door of her room. She actually paused for a minute to revel in the feeling that she actually has a room to call her own. Her apartment was more of a one room living space. Hardly something one could call home despite the "lovely" condition that the villagers help her keep it in. 'The wonders of sarcasm.' Kaiya thought with an odd smirk. No matter what, this is her home now and she'll protect it with her life. If they do manage to kill her, then they better make sure she's dead.

Kaiya checked to make sure she had everything before heading off to the academy. She knew of the genin tests that the jounin had to perform on their assigned squad of graduates. Unfortunately she didn't know what kind of test to expect or when to expect it. Better to be safe than sorry. So far everything checked out. She had replaced her usual blue shinobi sandals with black. Her black ANBU style pants were a nice change though she knew she'd be getting a couple odd looks at the accessories she wore.

First off, instead of just one pack behind the left hip like most ninja she wore two packs. Basically she had one pack for each side. Also she wore a holster for kunai, shuriken, and even senbon on each thigh. Normally ninja wouldn't have such a setup for their arsenal but being ambidextrous has its advantages. The next thing to draw attention would be odd setup of what would look like blue colored armor covering the shins with blue leg warmers sneaking out from under the pants. Both of which were obvious contributions of Anko and Gai. The armor protected not only the shins but also the weights. Fortunately it was setup in such a way that if the weights needed to be removed, then it would only be a matter of quickly removing them while adjusting the bindings on the armor for a tighter grip.

Obviously with this much weight on the lower body, it would be rather unwise to have much if any at all on the upper portion. For the upper body, Kaiya wore an ANBU style sleeveless shirt that the neck covering would be able to cover the mouth like one of Kakashi's face masks. She did have to get it customized a little to include a seal to prevent the Byakugan from seeing through. When the store owner asked why she wanted such a thing she replied. "Just because the Hyuuga is a noble clan of Konoha, they do have a kekkei genkai that has the ability to see through clothing." Needless to say the lady understood Kaiya's concerns and never bothered to question it.

In fact she was kind enough to add the desired customization to the rest of the clothes Kaiya bought. All of which was considered free of charge. Then again it might have had something to do with the amount that Kaiya was already raking up rather highly. The store owner began to consider giving Kaiya a slight discount when she decided to buy a dark blue ANBU armor for the torso. The kind old lady almost thought Kaiya was going to war when she saw all of what Kaiya was going to purchase, and forced her to consider refusing service until she noticed Kaiya had slowed down after she picked out a few dark gray t-shirts and a unique coat. The coat might have been more like the kind that a friend of hers sold to an odd looking customer. Except the one that Kaiya picked out was just plain black on the outside with the inner color being blue instead of red. In the end, the amount of money Kaiya dumped into her hands was a strong deciding factor that allowed Kaiya get away with purchasing all the stuff.

This resulted in Kaiya's upper body being covered first by the ANBU shirt and then the armor. The dark gray t-shirt covered them both and did a nice job of concealing what just might save her life some day. Last but not least, Kaiya wore her new coat wide open. It not only looked cool but at the same time allowed her to remove it quickly if it got in the way. With this in mind, Kaiya picked up her headband and tied it securely over her forehead where her goggles normally would be. Now though, her goggles reside securely around her neck. Loose enough to prevent certain problems like a lack of breathing, and tight enough to keep them from jostling around and hitting her in the face. Oddly enough, when Kaiya looked at her new look in the mirror; she couldn't help but wonder if she looked like a ninja or a ninja wannabe. Either way she had to get to the academy and find out which squad she'd be on.

---------

Getting to the academy was certainly interesting to say the least. First she had to deal with a number of odd looks aimed her way and then Konohamaru popped up asking to play ninja with her. He was rather put out to learn that she'd be busy. Noticing the look on his face she decided to have a kage bunshin join him. Granted she had to set him straight on a few details, but afterwards he happily walked away with her kage bunshin in tow. She just hoped that the old man wouldn't kill her for trying to teach him how to climb trees without hands. At least she warned Konohamaru not to go too high up. No way was she going to be getting in trouble just because he didn't listen to her warnings. Maybe Ebisu will catch them before he gets too bold? Guess it's a good thing Konohamaru is still wearing his helmet hat.

Upon arrival to the classroom, Kaiya couldn't help but feel slightly nervous at when the other graduates will start coming in and take notice of her. At least she'll get a laugh at seeing the Uchiha's face when he notices something a little too late. For now, her kage bunshin simply needed to stay standing on the ceiling and carefully apply the appropriate genjutsus. It's a good thing she's got chakra to spare and a secondary source to help if need be. However, Kaiya would be sure to use said source as sparingly as possible while inside or near the village. Slipping out a book, Kaiya began to read. Until Shikamaru noticed her and decided to check up on her since she probably seemed unfamiliar to him. She could see recognition in his eyes when he got a good look. Fortunately he knew what to keep quiet about and didn't say anything when he saw Sasuke sitting in the seat right next to his usual one.

"So how'd you manage to graduate, Kaiya? And what's with the new look?"

"It's too troublesome to explain, but let's just say I felt like a change was in order. If you want we could chat over a game of shogi sometime."

"Alright." They both shared a smile as Shikamaru moved back up to his usual seat. Kaiya went back to her book a moment later, only to notice Hinata standing in front of her. 'Sometimes it's scary how good she is at not being noticed.'

"Hey Hinata, would you mind if I sit here with you?" 'Now if only I could figure out her confidence issue, then I'm sure she could become a very strong kunoichi. Considering her kind nature, she might become quite the medical ninja if it weren't for her clan's traditions holding her back. Foolish clan traditions will only get a ninja killed because the ninja was limited by what the clan's traditions dictated the ninja use and not use to fight.'

Despite her stuttering and odd blushing, Hinata complied though she noted the curious image of Sasuke's choice in seating himself in the middle. Kaiya noticed this and before Hinata could voice her opinion out loud she saw Kaiya pointing upwards. What she saw was another Kaiya performing a jutsu of some kind. It only took a few seconds for her to realize that Kaiya was pulling a prank through the use of genjutsu. Hinata giggled and sat down next to Kaiya. Her shyness was still there, but not as much as before. Unfortunately she still seemed ready to faint at any moment if the blush on her face was any indication.

The other graduates soon filed into the classroom with little to no trouble aside from the number of fan-girls that were oddly arguing like there was only one seat available. It seemed odd but no one voiced their opinion since the fan-girls had rather volatile tempers and can be pretty violent. They can also be very loud. Which they proved quite well, much to the displeasure of anyone not deaf, when they noticed that not only had there been two seats available but vanilla and strawberry had taken them from under the fan-girls' noses. The only ones pleased with this arrangement were Ino and Sakura. Though, an observer with sharp eyes would notice something odd about the blonde. Either way, duck butt… ahem …Sasuke was clearly not amused but he did note an odd poof sound generated from above. All he saw was traces of smoke from a kage bunshin.

---------

At this time Konohamaru finds himself staring at Kaiya's kage bunshin as she rolls around laughing her butt off. The weird thing about it would be that there wasn't any reason for her to be laughing. They were just taking a break and enjoying the quiet moment until she just up and started laughing. If it weren't for Ebisu showing up and explaining things, then he might have started questioning her sanity.

---------

It was a good thing that Iruka-sensei showed up to calm every one down. The fan-girls were getting restless. He made a nice but slightly boring speech about them graduating. His pride and joy sounded honest enough but the fact he must have said it at least a thousand times before kind of dulled things a little. Everyone listened intently for their names as well as the names of their squad members. Unfortunately it seems that some one must have been listening to Kaiya's hopes of not being teamed up with a fan-girl and decided to crush them.

Team 7 will be Kaiya, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha

Team 8 will be Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame

Team 10 will be Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Chouji Akimichi

Four people perked up when they heard Kaiya's name and felt sympathy for her when they heard the names of her teammates. Though Sakura had to be the foolish one by complaining about the unknown member of their team and had asked Iruka just what was going on. Fortunately he had already prepared for this and gave a decent explanation. It was something about the number of graduates as well as the fact that if it weren't for Kaiya, then their team would come up short by one member. It was truthful while keeping certain information secret at the same time. He even managed to deflect Sakura's complaint about how "they" don't know anything about Kaiya.

"Why don't you ask her to tell you about herself?"

That certainly got the green eyed banshee to shut up. Granted Sakura's concerns were valid, but she tends to insult herself and other kunoichi with her actions and attitude. The only thing she has going for her is the book smarts and her perfect chakra control. Sadly she only uses the former to her advantage since the latter would have only been revealed to her if she tried to perform a chakra control exercise that would build up her reserves. If Sakura had stopped the fan-girl attitude, then she might have become a kunoichi worthy of respect.

'I'll just have to try and fix her problem in time before she jeopardizes the survival of the team.' This was the last thought Kaiya had for a while as she tried to decide what to do. She was sure their sensei would be Kakashi since Sasuke is on their team. So that meant she'll have a long wait ahead of her, and Konohamaru had finally been taken from the care of her kage bunshin. The memories she got were quite a mix. Kaiya wondered about the feelings her kage bunshin felt upon seeing Konohamaru had pulled off the exercise. 'Is this how a sensei feels when watching a student learn what is being taught? It's nice.'

---------

Unbeknownst to the graduates, they had been watched ever since they stepped into the academy and noted the odd things going on. They also took note of Kaiya's arsenal when the Hokage's orb had passed over her. Kakashi raised an eyebrow when he saw the goggles around her neck. When Kurenai saw the orb pass over the Uchiha she wasn't sure whether to feel happy or irritated when she heard the Hokage's explanation for his chuckling. Apparently he believed Kaiya was responsible for the genjutsu and Kurenai wasn't sure whether to be happy that some one took an interest in genjutsu, or irritated that its use was reduced to a simple prank. Asuma managed to placate her and even she had to admit that the display of genjutsu might actually inspire the graduates to consider the art of illusions more carefully. Especially since it takes skill to fool that many people at once without at least one of them noticing something. That aside, the graduates appeared to show promise, yet everyone couldn't help but feel disappointed with this year's batch of kunoichi. All but two seem to be fan-girls and of those two is a shy wallflower and the other appears to be more of an androgynous boy that's prepared for war. Regardless, they had their teams to pick up and either pass them or fail them depending on how the squad works as a team. Those poor graduates…

---------

Wandering around the academy sure feels different when you've graduated. Then again maybe it was the fact that the passing instructors no longer looked at her with such hatred that they use to. Unfortunately, the answer for that was obvious. They didn't know who she was. She wasn't posing as Naruto Uzumaki anymore so they no longer looked at her like they hated her for just being alive. It was kind of scary when a part of her felt like it missed those days. At least then they knew who she was. In an oddly morbid way she actually had a purpose. To be hated. Sure it still hurt to be treated that way but at least it wasn't like people would be able to forget her. The horrendous jumpsuit that screamed "I'm here and you'll notice me whether you like it or not!" Granted it was the only thing the store owners would sell her with the obvious hope in their eyes that it would get her killed. The same can be said of her previous weaponry.

To even call them low quality weapons would be an insult. Kaiya couldn't be sure but she had a feeling that the kunai were from the old man's time during one of the great shinobi wars. Under her care they become useful again and would be able to last a while. Now though, she wasn't sure what to do with them. Give them to TenTen to see if they can use the metal to make some new weapon, or have them be considered antiques with the hope of selling them to some history buff. The former option seemed like the wiser choice since she thought that the ancient weapons would feel insulted. After all, she put a lot of effort into restoring them to their former glory. She just hoped they would understand.

---------

Around this time the Hokage was showing Kakashi around Kaiya's new home. Both of them noted the rather old looking arsenal and were shocked at the quality. Despite the obvious problems, they appeared to have been carefully worked on and have been kept in the best condition possible considering the circumstances. Sarutobi had a rather disappointed feeling in his heart when he saw the arsenal. He knew that things were bad but he never expected it to be this bad. It was yet another thing that made him feel like he failed to honor the 4th's wish.

Afterwards, the Hokage gave Kakashi an explanation that had the desired hint which Kaiya wanted to be given to whoever becomes her sensei. When the two of them parted ways, Sarutobi had made up his mind on what to do for Kaiya as a way to hopefully apologize to the girl for not being there to help her. He just had to be sneaky about the whole thing since it certainly wouldn't be easy to pull off. 'I just need to time it right and those old farts won't be able to do anything about it.' Anyone passing by at that moment would have been privy to a rare sight. The Hokage looking like he is planning to pull a prank on some one.

---------

As time continued to pass by, Kaiya was becoming absolutely certain that their sensei was going to be Kakashi Hatake. It might not have been so bad if it weren't for the fact that Sakura wouldn't shut up. Most of Sakura's attention was aimed at Sasuke but she had to deal with a few questions whenever Sakura thought she was remotely interested in Sasuke. 'Like I'd ever be interested with the idiot that can't tell when he's under the influence of a genjutsu. It's bad enough knowing that he's planning to kill his older brother when he doesn't even know the whole truth of what happened that night. Too bad telling him now would only endanger Itachi's life. I'm still upset with the whole setup. I'll admit that aniki's ability to hide his emotions is rather unparalleled, but it's still rather risky. The people he's dealing with aren't exactly pushovers and the only "people" he's got on his side is a living sushi bar, a pyrotechnic enthusiast, and a puppet. Well the puppet is more of a friendly neutral. At least he's better than the multiple personality plant. Not sure what to think of his last report, but it is kind of funny that the leader would pair up an immortal with a zombie. Still, the fact that the leader and two more ninja have been keeping their identities secret from S-ranked ninja has me worried the most. Thankfully they haven't decided to make their move yet. However, the fact that a group of that many highly powerful ninja feeling the need to wait and accumulate their power would only mean one thing. They are planning something big and it will no doubt affect everyone.' Conveniently enough, when Kaiya's musings ended, the door opened to reveal the head of Kakashi Hatake getting hit on the head with a chalkboard eraser…

"Ow!"

… With some weight added to it thanks to a seal tagged onto the back of it. Causing Kakashi to rub his head as he cursed upon noticing what was also added to the eraser. A small explosion occurred and the next thing that was seen was a cloud of smoke. The eraser fell to the floor and didn't appear to be damaged at all. Sasuke and Sakura shared the same thought when they saw what happened and had a pretty good guess of who was responsible. 'When did she pull that off and how did she manage to set it up without either of us noticing?' It was rather sad on how they didn't realize that they had been paying more attention to the wrong side of the room to notice the kage bunshin that had snuck in and setup the whole thing. It was rather easy since Sasuke and Sakura did what she had expected of them. They just stayed in the room with her while she read more of the book she was reading earlier. Apparently there were some rather interesting recipes to be found in it. There were even a couple interesting meals involving snake meat.

When the smoke cleared, Sasuke and Sakura could see that Kakashi was visibly irritated, and it made them nervous. Though that disappeared when they heard what he said next after he adopted a thinking pose.

"My first impression of you guys… At least you're interesting." 'After all, it's not everyday that an academy graduate tags a seal onto an eraser to make it heavier. Fuuinjutsu are at least a Chuunin level skill. It was obvious that one of them wanted to teach me a lesson for being late but it also taught me the lesson of not underestimating them. Still, I wonder what the smoke was for?'

"Meet me on the roof in five minutes."

That was the last thing they heard from Kakashi before he used the Shunshin no jutsu to disappear in a poof of smoke.

"Show off." Kaiya grumbled before slipping out the window to use the tree climbing exercise to walk up the wall.

This left Sakura and Sasuke to walk up to the roof like normal people.

---------

Upon arrival they noticed a rather odd scene. Their Jounin-sensei standing against the railing as he read a certain orange book seemed normal enough. However they noticed that their teammate was also reading a book, and two bunshins of her were playing a game of rock, paper, scissors behind her back. The Jounin was also looking at Kaiya rather oddly. It was only when they sat down did they realize that the bunshins were solid. Then again, it would be kind of hard to miss when one of them decided to punch the other. Unfortunately for the attacker, all she hit was a log that soon fell off the roof. She was soon dispelled when the other bunshin attacked her from behind. The remaining bunshin was then dispelled by a senbon needle to the heart, and the senbon was retrieved by a chakra thread. It was only after Kaiya placed the senbon needle back into her holster did some one speak.

"Well that was interesting." Kakashi stated calmly as he closed his book and returned it to his pack.

"What the hell was that?" Sakura screeched and made everyone temporarily deaf for a few seconds.

Sasuke just seethed for a moment. His silence was an opportunity that Kakashi exploited.

"Now that that's over with, why don't you two sit down and we can all introduce ourselves."

"What do you want us to say, sensei?"

"Your name, things you like and things you hate, hobbies, and dreams for the future."

"Why do you introduce yourself first sensei? I mean we don't know anything about you."

"Hm… Alright. My name is Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate… I don't feel like telling you. Dreams for the future… I don't feel like telling you that either. I have lots of hobbies."

"Two of which are that you read a certain orange book out in public and have a habit of being three hours late for almost everything. The excuses you make are interesting though."

"Oh, and just how do you know this?" Kakashi asked.

Kaiya merely pointed to the armor and leg warmers.

"I see." 'So she's had training from Anko and Gai. Interesting.' "Okay then, you're up next pinkie."

Needless to say Sakura wasn't happy with the nickname but she introduced herself anyway.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. What I like is…" Sakura blushes and giggles. "I mean the person that I like is…" A muffled squeal could be heard and Sasuke edged away from her little by little. "My hobbies are…" Kaiya could have sworn she heard something besides a fan-girl squeal but she didn't feel like finding out considering how Sakura's blush increased in size. "My dreams for the future…" After Sakura's squealed again, Kaiya had enough.

"Are you having an orgasm or what, Sakura?"

Sasuke choked a little on the spit he was swallowing and sadly missed out on enjoying the sound of Kakashi laughing. Sakura was too mortified to say anything and looked like she was about to faint.

"And, what do you hate?"

That brought her back to reality though… "Kaiya!"

"Love you too, hime." Kaiya stated sarcastically and simply waited to see if Sasuke wished to go next. She didn't fail to notice that Sakura was strangely quiet after her comment though.

"Alright then why don't you go next?"

"Fair enough, and my name is Kaiya." She could see a slight wince in Kakashi's posture but didn't say anything about it. She simply lifted her head and looked at the sky as she finished the rest of her introduction. "I like those that are precious to me, training, and my previous senseis. I hate certain things about this village but I still view it as my home. My dream for the future is to become Hokage for the sake of a certain some one, and to teach the future generations how to become strong ninja. One of my students might even become Hokage someday… As for my hobbies… Well I like to read and learn new things. Like this recipe for how to cook a certain snake that I found under my paper fan four years ago."

'She's certainly interesting. I think the last part was her way of saying that she plans to get revenge against Orochimaru. But why and what sort of connection is she hinting at between Orochimaru and the Uchiha clan? I'll need to have a talk with the Hokage about this.'

"And that leaves us with you Mr. Sunshine."

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things and I don't particularly like anything. My dream is an ambition because I will make it a reality. And that is to restore my clan and destroy a certain some one."

'I thought so.' This thought was shared by Kakashi and Kaiya.

"Just how do you plan to restore your clan if you just constantly ignore the girls laying themselves at your feet? I'll admit that the fan-girls are more like rabid beasts but it's your attitude that attracts them in the first place. But still, if you plan to restore your clan, then you will need to get started on it before you go off on your revenge trip. You did pay attention to that sexual education class didn't you?"

Silence was the only response Kaiya got from everyone. Sakura was frozen and looked a little green. It was obvious that she hadn't exactly thought it through on the whole "Get Sasuke" plan. Sasuke just looked horrified. Kakashi had only looked composed on the outside, but inside he was laughing his head off. The looks on their faces were priceless. Might as well enjoy them now since he just knew he'll have a headache to deal with later when he reports his concerns about Sasuke's interests. They'll need some one to confirm it but hopefully things will be okay.

"Well then, you're each unique and you have your own ideas." 'Sort of, but Kaiya at least hid her desire for revenge. That could be a bad thing but at least it hints to the fact that she won't jeopardize the team just for the sake of getting revenge.' "We'll start our first mission tomorrow."

'A mission? Just what is he playing at? Academy graduates don't go on missions and we're not full fledged genin yet so we can't go on a mission.' "What sort of mission sensei?" Kaiya made it obvious in her voice that she was suspicious.

'Hm… I think she's on to me.' "It's something that the four of us will do together."

"What's that Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura had asked with a slightly subdued hint to her voice.

"A survival exercise." 'Looks like I was right. Kaiya seems to be well informed but she might need to work on hiding her emotional responses. They can give her away at a bad time.'

"We already did enough survival exercises back at the academy." Sasuke stated with a hint of irritation. He had managed to regain his composure up until some one smacked the back of his head.

"Baka! Just shut up and listen to what Kakashi-sensei has to say about the test."

"What test and don't hit Sasuke like that!"

Kaiya merely looked at Sakura and raised an eyebrow as if to ask what she was thinking. 'I could always hit him harder if you like.'

"You're certainly well informed, Kaiya."

"When you've been trained by two Tokubetsu Jounin, a taijutsu enthusiast Jounin, and a member of ANBU as well as the Chuunin instructors at the academy you tend to learn a few things." This revelation certainly caused everyone to pause for a moment and ponder the information.

"I see. So that means you know that this test will determine whether or not you become full fledged genin?"

"Yep."

"Wait a minute sensei, what do you mean by that? Didn't we become genin when we graduated from the academy?"

"Pfft… As if. That was just to weed out those who didn't have the potential to become genin. The Jounin-sensei decides whether or not we become actual genin. Also there's the fact that out of all the twenty seven graduates only nine will actually become genin. So that makes the failure rate at sixty six percent." Kaiya crossed her arms for a moment and mumbled something that only Kakashi picked up on. "At least it's better than Kirigakure's fifty percent back before Zabuza forced them to change the system." She then spoke up to say. "Am I right sensei?"

"That's it right, Kaiya."

"So what happens to the other eighteen who don't become genin?"

"Well…" Kaiya looked upwards again as if to make what she was about to say seem more dramatic. "They simply get sent back to the academy."

Seeing Sakura facefault and Sasuke's eyebrow twitch was certainly amusing.

"They could also be dropped from the program or simply eliminated." In the minds of Sasuke, Sakura, and even Kakashi; the image of Kaiya's smiling face was forever burned into their memory as creepy and just down right scary. Despite how beautiful her face looked, the fact that she so lightly talked of how they could be eliminated and was actually smiling set off a few mental alarms. Too bad that they weren't of the Yamanaka clan or they could have found out that Kaiya planned to do that. They may be teammates and as a result become close friends, but she wasn't about to let Sasuke or Sakura get too close.

Kakashi simply logged the memory right beside the look of Anko's face when she practically did the same thing a couple times. It was actually kind of creepy knowing that he might have a student who has hints of Anko and Gai. He wasn't sure who the other two senseis were but he made a note to find out. No way was he going to take risks with her.

"Uh… Right. Anyway, I want all of you to meet me at the designated training ground at 5am. Bring your ninja gear. Oh and bit of advice, don't eat breakfast or you'll puke." After that Kakashi left in the poof of smoke.

"Translation. Show up at 8am and eat a light breakfast. That way you'll have energy from the food but be without the risk of puking your guts out. I hope for your sakes that you two realize what the test's true purpose will be about before it's too late." Kaiya swiftly got up and jumped over the railing. By the time they looked over the edge they saw her running form had reached the ground. After that she simply took off and only a dust cloud remained as evidence to her presence. Neither of them noticed that Kakashi had actually been watching them. He eye-smiled when Kaiya had pointed out the obvious traps he set up as well as the fact that she provided them a hint to passing. The hint was vague enough to make them think about the one detail she pointed out. This team might actually pass his tests, or not. It all depended on Sasuke and Sakura. Things certainly won't be easy.

---------

7:55 A.M.

Sakura and Sasuke have been waiting ever since 5am and haven't seen any signs of their third teammate or their sensei.

"Morning!" Kaiya shouted from behind their backs. After they calmed down from being startled they noticed that Kaiya was yet again reading a book.

"Don't do that!" Sakura complained loudly.

Sasuke simply remained quiet while pondering Kaiya's abilities. Her stealth skills were very good considering she got so close without him noticing.

"Here." Kaiya tossed one energy bar each to Sasuke and Sakura.

"Why are you giving us this? Kakashi sensei told us not to eat breakfast."

"Who said its breakfast? Those bars are more of a snack that should sustain your body's nutritional needs during the exercise. You'll need it and Kakashi said not to eat breakfast as advice. He did not order us to skip breakfast. I'm surprised that you let yourselves get caught by his traps before the exercise even began."

While it was harsh to say, Kaiya's words did serve as motivation to convince them that they should eat before their sensei arrived. Sasuke did it more out of pride to keep from being made a fool of while Sakura just followed along. This disappointed Kaiya a little bit but she hoped that things would work out for the best later. Soon enough there sensei arrived on time, sort of.

"You're Late!!!" Sakura screeched and rendered everyone deaf.

"Sorry, a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way around."

'So that's who I saw in my peripheral vision as I was wandering around.' "Liar!"

"Remind me later to invest in some ear plugs."

"Ah, right." 'I was actually telling the truth this time.' Kakashi placed and started the timer.

"There, it's set for noon. Your mission is to get one of these bells from me." Kakashi held up two silver bells attached to red strings. "If you cannot get a bell from me, then you won't get to eat lunch and be tied to one of those three posts while you watch me eat my lunch in front of you."

'So that's why he told us not to eat breakfast.' Sasuke and Sakura thought. 'Guess we should have listened to Kaiya sooner.'

"Wait a minute. There are only two bells."

'Thank you Ms. Obvious. Now can you figure out the trick behind him lacking a third one?'

"Yep, and that means that at least one of you will be tied to a post. The person who does not get a bell will fail considering that the person failed to complete the mission, and be sent back to the academy. It might be just one of you or all three of you. To stand any chance you will have to come at me with the intent to kill. You are permitted to use shuriken."

"But that's dangerous sensei! You could be killed!"

"If you manage to kill him, then I'll give you my left eye as well as eat my hat."

Awkward silence was the main response for at least a moment.

"Uh… Kaiya, you don't have a hat." Sakura and Sasuke almost facefaulted when they heard such words from their sensei.

"Do I look worried?" They did facefault at that though. This caused them to miss out on seeing the initial part of Kaiya's charge towards their sensei. They did catch the end of it where the result was that Kakashi was holding Kaiya's wrist. Thus he was able to stop the kunai in her hand from continuing on its course to what would have probably been his neck. He did note the odd feeling around his neck and came to the conclusion that he might need to have a talk with Asuma later. For now…

"I didn't say start yet." Kakashi let go of Kaiya's arm and watched her as she step back. The fact that she never turned her back to him showed that she was taking things seriously. "Well, you certainly came at me with the intent to kill. I think I'm starting to like you three. Let's get started, shall we?"

"Ready, Start!"

'One of the basic skills of a ninja is the ability to conceal one's presence and hide.'

Kakashi carefully scanned the area. 'Good. They've hidden themselves well. Now where did Kaiya run off too? Huh?'

Standing right where she was originally was Kaiya herself. She had her arms crossed and her eyes were closed. At first glance, even Kakashi was almost fooled into thinking that she was leaving herself wide open. Then again, he wasn't a Jounin for nothing.

"You know compared to the others, you're a little weird."

"Hehehe… Thanks, but you're not really in a position to talk about weird with a hairstyle like that. Then again I suppose it is better than having one's hairstyle shaped like a ducks butt."

"True."

---------

Sasuke was carefully observing what was going on between Kaiya and Kakashi. The fact that they were just standing there didn't really help him any.

"Psst… Hey, Sasuke."

Looking to his left, Sasuke was surprised to see Kaiya on the same branch as him.

"Have you figured out the true purpose of the test yet, or are you simply planning to get a bell by yourself instead of teaming up with me and Sakura?"

Uchiha pride reared its ugly head at that moment. "I don't need your help."

"I'll ask again later then. Maybe you'll change your mind after he knocked you down a peg or two. Later." The Kaiya he was talking to simply disappeared in a poof of smoke.

---------

Sadly, the result was the same with Sakura even though it slightly differed from how Sasuke brushed off her offer of help. At least with Sakura she was a little kinder with her negative response.

---------

Kaiya sighed loudly and Kakashi could see she was disappointed at something. 'Hm… Guess she sent kage bunshins to her teammates to hopefully get them to work with her but they turned her down. At least she understands the true objective of the test.

"Well at least I tried. Too bad really, I was sure that with our **teamwork**, we could have taken you down together as a **team**. Instead, I'll just have to take you on myself and hope for the best. Maybe I'll get both bells and can share them with my **teammates**."

'Nice style, but she's laying it on a little thick. Still, she does deserve credit for trying at least.'

"Alright then, the first lesson shall be taijutsu." 'I might regret it later since she's obviously a student of Gai. At least she's not wearing green spandex, orange leg warmers, and shouts loudly about the power of youth. One mini-Gai clone is bad enough, thank you very much.' Kakashi pulled out his favorite orange book and waited. He might not get to read for very much longer but at least he was going to get as much as possible.

"Why are you reading that?" Kaiya asked Kakashi with an obvious hint of exasperation.

"To find out what happens next."

"Fair enough." Kaiya murmured before attacking. For the moment she simply focused on probing his defenses and testing his reflexes with a few punches and kicks. This went on for a while until Kakashi was behind her with his hands forming the tora handsign.

"You know, ninja shouldn't let the enemy get behind them."

Seeing the handsign, Sakura tried to shout out a warning to Kaiya.

"Too late." Kakashi said before he performed… "Sennen Goroshi!"

Before his fingers could even touch her, Kaiya simply went poof. This left everyone to stare at the dissipating smoke for a moment and wonder about what just happened. 'Well this is interesting. Seems the one that was attacking me was just a kage bunshin as well. If that's the case, then where is the real Kaiya?'

For the time being Kakashi simply went back to reading his book only to hear a scream coming from Sakura a moment later. 'Hm… Maybe I should invest in a pair of ear plugs as well. I might not pass this time but knowing how loud she is it might not make a difference. Still, Sakura should have easily been able to notice the genjutsu and dispel it. The report said she'd be suited for it as well as medical jutsu due to her perfect chakra control. Even the Hokage had mentioned an odd thought that it might be a kekkei genkai. Oh well, there's still Sasuke to test. Speaking of which…' Sasuke's shuriken impacted and looked as if they hit… a log.

Sasuke soon moved to a new location.

---------

Kaiya had finally found Sakura in a daze. She was obviously affected by a genjutsu if the look on her face was any indication.

"Sakura, you better be grateful for this."

Kaiya then dispelled the genjutsu on Sakura and thankfully got her to consider working as a team. Though she did have to calm Sakura down after dispelling the genjutsu, and they both agreed to never speak of what she did while in such a state. Amazing what can happen during a moment of delirium. Too bad Kaiya never noticed that they were being watched by Kakashi's kage bunshin.

Sakura was the first to find Sasuke with Kaiya right behind her.

"Sakura."

Sakura was about to faint when she saw Sasuke's talking head. At least, that was until Kaiya slapped her butt and lightly groped it, thus shocking her enough to keep from passing out when they needed her to stay conscious. 'Guess some of the Naruto persona still lingers.'

"Why did you do that?" Sakura growled indignantly.

"Considering that I was behind you, I didn't have enough time to get in front and slap your face to keep you from fainting. We can't have you fainting before we dig Sasuke out of the hole. Oh and Sasuke, I hope you'll consider working together as a team since it's obvious a single genin doesn't stand a chance against a Jounin. I'm sure you understand that if we fail here, then you won't be able to fulfill your ambition." Kaiya stated coldly in front of Sasuke. It would be only some time later that she'd learn of just how scary she seemed to Sasuke and Sakura right then and there. 'Hopefully, Sasuke realizes this and is willing to work as a team. I might be able to give Kakashi a run for his money but I'm not about to get cocky and think I can take him on by myself.'

Kaiya's little revelation was like a splash of ice water to the fires of hatred that blinded Sasuke from working together. Granted, he'd still be a pain with his lone avenger attitude rearing its ugly head from time to time. For the moment however, it was enough to force Sasuke to think carefully. 'I hate to admit it but she's right. Her earlier moves were just her way of testing him and it was obvious that he wouldn't go down easy. I only managed to touch a bell because I took him by surprise since he underestimated me. He won't be so easy to catch off guard again since he has an idea of what to expect. Guess this means I don't have much of a choice if I want to pass this test.'

"Alright, what do you have in mind?"

"Okay then, here's the plan."

---------

Kakashi was beginning to get worried. Time was running out for the graduates and there hadn't been any sign of them ever since Sasuke got buried up to his neck. 'Oh well if they don't pass, then it will just mean more time for me to read my book.' Kakashi turned the page as he peacefully read his book.

Suddenly Sasuke popped out into the clearing and threw what looked to be a Fuuma Shuriken. 'What is he up to?' Kakashi regretted even asking when the shuriken turned out to be Kaiya using the henge to transform herself into the shuriken. She soon had her arms and legs wrapped around him and she was soon joined by the kage bunshin that had also transformed into a shuriken that had been hidden under the shadow of the first. Kakashi noticed that he was unable to move for a long enough amount of time to allow Sakura the chance to relieve him of the bells. This was done just in time too since the moment she handed a bell to Sasuke the alarm clock went off. Too bad the bells suddenly became ordinary acorns with white strings.

"I should have known that it was too easy." Kaiya said sadly as she made her way into the clearing. Her two kage bunshins dispelled themselves soon after.

"Well the three of you did work together and come up with quite an interesting plan in the end."

"Yeah but we didn't get the bells, sensei."

"True, but the real purpose of this exercise wasn't about getting a bell."

"It was about teamwork and despite the shaky start we worked together as a team before it was too late."

"Yes, though you almost ran out of time. You are the first to figure it out. The rest were just idiots who did everything I said and fell into every trap. They failed because they put the mission before their comrades. You guys almost did the same thing before the end. We will have to work on that since acting the way you did before coming together will only get you killed while on a mission. Hostages can be taken and you'll be forced to make impossible choices before you die. Individual skills may be important for a ninja, but being able to work as a team is the key to a mission's success. You risk your life whenever you're on a mission. So being able to work together would certainly improve your chances of survival." Kakashi walked over to the memorial stone and spoke in a somber tone. "Look at this stone. Carved on its surface are the names of many ninja that are considered heroes of this village. This is a memorial for the fallen, and my best friend's name is carved on this stone."

Silence was the response to this as the three genin had a solemn look on their faces.

"If you remember anything of this day, then be sure to remember this. In the ninja world, those that do not follow the rules are called trash. That's true. But, you know…Those that don't take care of their friends are worse than trash."

Kaiya couldn't help but agree as she softly smiled while wiping the tears from her eyes. She may be tough when need be but such touching moments are hard to ignore. Sakura looked like a mixture of pride, joy, and what was either her looking forward to the future or her body finally stopped being constipated. Sasuke simply enjoyed the moment in his own way.

"The test is over. All of you pass! Squad 7 starts its missions tomorrow." Kakashi said while performing his own version of Gai's good guy pose. "Let's go."

As they walked away, Kaiya couldn't help but wonder about one thing. 'Would he have tied me to one of those posts and simply left me here had things been different?'

---------

After Sasuke, Sakura, and Kaiya had gone home, Kakashi had to show up to the meeting where the Jounins would mention which teams passed or failed. This year it seemed that the teams assigned to Asuma and Kurenai were able to pass. When it was Kakashi's turn everyone expected him to have failed them. They were surprised to find out otherwise. Kakashi had commented about them being an interesting bunch and the Hokage asked him to elaborate on what he meant.

"Well, Sakura's only obvious advantages seem to be her book smarts, her chakra control, and apparently her speed. Sasuke's skills were to be expected considering he graduated as the rookie of the year. He actually surprised me a little. But Kaiya's certainly a unique one, she displayed impressive skills but I get the feeling she's holding back. I can't think of a reason why though."

"Hm… I would like a word with you later, Kakashi. The rest of you are dismissed."

Everyone filed out, leaving Kakashi to notice the Hokage performing a privacy jutsu. 'This can't be good.'

"Please sit down, Kakashi." Pulling out a bottle of sake and a couple saucers was an obvious sign that what the Hokage had to say definitely wouldn't be good. 'This is going to be one long night.'

"I hope you'll be able to forgive me for what I am about to tell you…"

After this Kakashi could only think of one thing. 'Ah, crap.'


	5. Chapter 4

Forgiveness of a Kitsune

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did then there would have been serious changes made to the story.**

Chapter 4

Time seemed to blur as squad seven went through the torture known as D-rank missions. The missions served multiple purposes. They were a form of community service that would hopefully humble the ninja performing them. Perhaps that's why Gai's team has done so many D-rank missions. Neji's pride kept getting in the way of them taking on a higher ranked mission. D-rank missions also helped ninja develop their individual skills while under the guise of doing chores. It was also a form of mental torture to see if the ninja will snap and request a higher ranked mission or just keeps doing D-rank missions without question. Considering the members of squad seven, it shouldn't be hard to guess that they'd snap sooner or later. At least they didn't waste their time doing D-rank missions.

It was surprisingly easy to convince Sasuke to try some of the training methods that Kaiya suggested for him. Sakura was a little difficult but Kaiya was able to provide some persuasive arguments that convinced her to at least try. Granted Kaiya's persuasion tactics were a little underhanded but she was sure her teammates would thank her later when they realized how much they improved. Both of them were now wearing weights similar to those on Kaiya's legs as well as leg warmers to keep them covered. Sasuke's were white and Sakura's were red. They had also switched their blue sandals for the same black ones that Kaiya wore on her feet. Kaiya was rather thankful for Sakura's choice since the girl's naturally pink hair was more than enough pink. However, Kaiya did give Sakura a curious look when she saw that the pink haired girl had decided to switch the blue cloth of her headband with red cloth. All three started wearing weight bracers on their wrists and their bracers were the same color as their leg warmers. Though Sasuke's bracers were hidden under what he normally wore on his arms for protection. Kaiya tried to get them to consider wearing some armor for the torso under their clothes but Sasuke and Sakura didn't think it was necessary. Since they were just doing D-rank missions she didn't argue. She only hoped that they would not find themselves needing the armor and not have it on them on their first C-rank mission. Their evasion skills may have improved thanks to her and her kage bunshins but there are times when you might not be able to evade. Sasuke still hasn't awakened his Sharingan and wasn't too happy with Kaiya's vague answer.

"The Sharingan will awaken when you truly need it. Not when you want it to awaken."

His consolation was that she taught him and Sakura the tree climbing and water walking exercises. He may not have mastered them like Sakura did. Sasuke had calmed down when he heard that the Hokage suspected that Sakura might have a kekkei genkai in the form of perfect chakra control. Sarutobi did have to make him promise to keep quiet about it since the council would probably ruin his teammate's ninja career by making her into a breeder. The old man didn't have to tell him twice since he could relate and the fact that his team would be either stuck with D-rank missions or pulled from active duty until a new member could be found. Sasuke wasn't about to let that happen. Sakura may not have been much of a kunoichi at first but thanks to Kaiya she's become a lot better. Sakura started learning genjutsu and medical jutsu which both benefited him since the former helped his training in the field of genjutsu and the latter helped him train more. Thankfully, Kaiya didn't teach Sakura how to perform Tsunade's strength technique when she started to get irritated and sometimes react violently when she had to heal him when he pushed himself a little too much. Then again, it might have something to do with how Kaiya runs her ragged enough that Sakura had to resort to learning a few medical techniques to deal with how sore her body felt. Sasuke certainly wasn't going to ask Sakura about her massage techniques since Kakashi learned the painful lesson that the subject was taboo. They only knew that she learned them from Kaiya and her skills with genjutsu only amplify how scary the snow haired girl can be. Sasuke wasn't scared. He just realized that the result would interfere with his training.

Training that got more interesting when Kaiya showed up with rather interesting pieces of paper before she started with their ninjutsu training. Kakashi had explained what they were and what the results might mean. Fire would have the paper burst into flames, water would make the paper soggy, lightning would make the paper crumple up, wind would make the paper split, and earth would make the paper turn to dust. He did tell them not to be surprised if nothing happened but their sensei was rather shocked to see the results. Sasuke's paper unsurprisingly burst into flames, but it was a slight surprise to see it crinkle up. Kaiya gave Sasuke a book of ninjutsu for each element.

Sasuke looked over the Katon jutsus and saw that there were Katon jutsus that were not in the Uchiha clan scrolls. The Raiton book had some interesting jutsus in it as well. He also saw that the books appeared to be written by Kaiya. The explanations for how to perform the jutsus were even clearer than the scroll he learned from. Sasuke smirked at the fact that he'll be able to improve his mastery of Katon jutsus as well as the Raiton jutsus.

Sakura's paper was a mixture of soaked and disintegrated. Kaiya gave her a Doton and Suiton book. Kakashi was certainly surprised with Sakura's progress. Not only had she increased her reserves exponentially but she apparently gained two affinities. It was a good thing she didn't show an ability to use Mokuton jutsus, or he might have passed out before he got to see the possible chakra nature(s) of his third student. Kakashi might not have taught them much since Kaiya was doing a good enough job as is, but he did train them and help with their training in whatever way he could. Though, he didn't appreciate being the target of their ambush tactics. He may have a habit for being late but he at least deserved a little respect from his students. At least, enough respect to not have a joke technique being used against him. He was forced to resort to revealing his Sharingan when he started to arrive on time and after awhile it became a habit. That was after he got over how his students had difficulty believing that he was really himself when he started to show up on time. Either way, he was proud of how his students turned out, and got a kick out of seeing them mimic him a little with how they walk while reading a book. They might not read the same book as him, but that's because they're too young to read it. The content of their books showed that they are taking things seriously and he was happy about that. Now if only he could get Kaiya to stop verbally attacking his choice in reading material. Speaking of whom…

Kaiya's paper had been the biggest surprise of all. At first, everyone just thought that her paper splitting into four pieces meant she had a strong wind affinity. It was when the four pieces reacted by either bursting into flames, getting soaked, crumpled, or disintegrated that they were shocked senseless. Kakashi's unconscious body was what brought them back to reality and Kaiya had to explain that she only managed to have that many affinities through intense training that began when she was only three. Considering Kaiya's definition of intense training, this information calmed Sasuke and provided another piece to the puzzle that was Kaiya. Sakura was amazed and unable to speak for a moment. Until Kaiya gave them what looked to be two books of the same subject.

"What's this?"

"It's a book about the shunshin no jutsu. Normally only ninja above genin rank know how to perform this jutsu. Keep them hidden and learn well from them. There's also a chapter on how to personalize the shunshin so you can have your own version. Be careful though. Jutsus are not toys to be played with carelessly."

Sasuke and Sakura took the warning to heart. It would be awhile before they could master the jutsu since they had to train in secret and there were quite a few D-rank missions that got in the way. For example, the current mission that they were on. Their mission was the retrieval of a prisoner that had escaped from a high security prison. This prisoner is very cunning, elusive, and had repeatedly escaped from the prison. They had been charged with this mission a number of times before and were very tempted to just assassinating the escaped prisoner for the sake of their own sanity. Squad 7 couldn't be sure but they had a pretty strong feeling that he was trained in the ninja arts.

At the moment the escaped prisoner was just standing around enjoying the sweet taste of freedom. It didn't notice the three figures waiting to move and ambush him. At least, that was until they sprung into action. Almost instantly the escaped prisoner found his limbs tied together by what appeared to be ninja wire that had belonged to the three that caught him. Attached to the ends of each wire was a blunted shuriken that had caused the wire to wrap around his four legs.

"I almost didn't think that would work."

"Well at least now we can capture him without getting scratched by this blasted cat's claws. Sakura, Sasuke, hand me your wires so I can perform the containment procedure."

They complied and left Kaiya to the procedure of slipping the cat, Tora, into the wire cage. Its legs may have been tied up, but they weren't going to take any chances. Fortunately, Kaiya was able to get the cat inside and remove the wire from its legs without any troubles. The last part was tricky considering the circumstances, but the mission was a success in the end. The results were a lot better than the previous times they had to capture the cat. Kakashi had volunteered to carry the cat back with them. He just did it so they didn't harm or kill the cat. Still, he couldn't help wondering about the cat. The mission to retrieve Tora was a rather common D-rank mission and had been around for a long time. Even he had to capture the cat a couple times when the Hokage punished him with a month of D-rank missions, and that was at least ten years ago.

---------

Upon arrival to the mission requisition desk, squad seven was treated to an enjoyable sight. The Fire Daimyo's wife was squeezing her pet cat in an almost suffocating hug. After she paid and left, Kaiya sealed the equipment they used to capture Tora into a scroll that was labeled "Tora Retrieval Equipment Storage Scroll." Or TRESS for short.

When the Hokage and Iruka-sensei saw this they could only think that maybe squad seven had been chasing that cat too many times. 'At least they haven't resorted to attempted assassination.' They didn't fail to note the sadistic looks on the faces of the genin when Sasuke, Sakura, and Kaiya were watching the cat squirm as it was squeezed. Sarutobi felt it was best to give them a mission before the cat escaped and caused them to chase after it again.

"Well then, squad seven, your next mission shall be…"

"Lord Hokage!" Kaiya had shouted and caused Sarutobi to pause. After all, Kaiya never calls him Lord Hokage unless she thinks it's really important. 'It would seem she has finally gotten fed up. It's about time, too.' "As a member of squad seven, I formally request a C-rank mission for the sake of my teammates' sanity as well as my own. Another D-rank mission that should be assigned to an academy student as a form of community service will only push us over the edge and result in…"

"Put a sock in it." Kakashi said irritably as he punched the back of Kaiya's head. 'I just know I'll probably get yelled at later for this, and I'm sure Kaiya will get back at me for punching her.' Kakashi thought as he scratched the back of his head.

Sakura and Sasuke silently agreed with Kaiya though. If they had to do another D-rank mission then they were going to lose it. The only D-rank mission they viewed with respect was the one where Kaiya was their client.

--- [Flashback no jutsu ---

Finding out that your teammate had actually requested a D-rank mission where you had to carry a lot of flowers for her tested the limits of their sanity, but at the time it was a mission that they had to do and there wasn't any backing out of it. Sasuke and Sakura had cooled down when they found out who the flowers were for as well as a certain secret that Kaiya had been keeping.

Apparently, the flowers were for Naruto Uzumaki's grave, or rather the one that was made in a remote location atop the Hokage Monument. The story behind his death was that a misunderstanding between Naruto and a villager had been blown out of proportions. A mob had formed soon afterwards and while ANBU could have stopped it from escalating as badly as it did. There wasn't any ANBU there to stop it. In fact, a rumor had been circulating that certain ANBU members had actually joined the mob's attack. They had cornered Naruto into the apartment building that he lived in and set it ablaze. Katon jutsus were used and the flames were white hot. Nothing survived. A few Hyuugas had witnessed the whole thing. Despite the chakra enhanced flames, they could see Naruto being burned alive. One Hyuuga had actually cried and pitied the boy. She was lucky no one noticed at the time. When asked how she knew about the Hyuuga, Kaiya stated calmly. "Because I was there, standing beside the Hokage as we watched a very unique clone of mine "died" inside that apartment building." Needless to say they were curious and Kaiya answered their questions. She rocked their world even more than when they had heard about Naruto's "death" as well as his heritage and burden. It was certainly quite a shock and had allowed Kakashi to have some insight of his mysterious student.

Clearly she trusted them with her secrets. Based on her teammates' reactions, Sakura and Sasuke weren't happy with the fact that she didn't tell them sooner but they respected her for being cautious. Sasuke reacted oddly when she revealed her doujutsu. He seemed strangely tense at seeing what most would have mistaken as an advanced version of the Sharingan. When she explained the details of the fourth tomoe, Sasuke relaxed. It was rather funny seeing their reactions when Kaiya told them that she still hasn't thought of a name to call her doujutsu.

'They had probably expected Kaiya to name it something like Shikon Sharingan. The Hokage had said that she had thought of that but then reconsidered. She told him that it didn't feel right calling it that. Not that I blame her considering her father had a certain flare when it came to naming his jutsus. I just wish that the Hokage hadn't lied to me when he said that sensei's son had died that night. The fact that he kept Naruto's heritage a secret may have been understandable since Kumo might have sent assassins to kill Naruto as a way of getting back at sensei. They may not have been the only enemies that sensei made, but despite the threat to Naruto's life it would have been nice to know that sensei's son was alive. Funny on how the 4th's legacy had more than one meaning. Still, Kushina is not going to be happy when she hears about what happened. Hopefully, the Hokage's message will reach her before she hears the news from some traveler. Otherwise, Rin might not be able to keep her calm and might actually join in on getting some answers out of the old man. Not that I blame them of course. I don't want to be around when they find out that Kushina's son had become her daughter. They might get really upset when they find out who trained her and how they trained Kaiya. I certainly don't envy you right now, Anko.'

Sasuke appeared to be thinking of asking Kaiya if the Kyuu… Akahana could adjust his eyes so that he could have the same doujutsu as her. Kakashi stopped him by mentioning how he'd probably have to explain to the council why his eyes don't look like the normal Sharingan. It would be very difficult to explain without revealing Kaiya's secret. Besides, Sasuke probably needed to have his Sharingan activated before it could be adjusted. The only reason why Kaiya got hers was because Akahana had given it to her while her body was being altered. Sasuke kept quiet after that and he as well as the others noticed Kaiya's eyes having a glazed look to them. The disappointed look on her face indicated that it would be best if he didn't bother her about it. For now they had to get back to report that the mission was a success so that they could get paid.

It did make them think about how Kaiya had to resort to having their trip being an actual mission. Did she really believe that they might treat her badly when she told them? Would they have thought the same if they were in her place? Yes. There were still people who hated Naruto Uzumaki and viewed him as a demon regardless of who his parents were. Kaiya couldn't be sure if Sakura and Sasuke were among those people and had to be careful. They may relate to each other because of how they have their own kekkei genkai, but Kaiya couldn't just trust them blindly because of that. The fact that she told them instead of just keeping it a secret until she was forced to tell, told them that she finally trusted them enough. They weren't about to betray that trust after all the help she gave them. She could have just as easily not helped them and left them to fend for themselves. Kaiya was more than a teammate to them now. She was their friend and their sensei.

--- [Flashback Kai ---

"You guys are still just genin fresh out of the academy. You're supposed to take D-rank missions to develop your individual skills and gain experience." Iruka explained loudly to squad seven.

"Ha! You're just saying that as an excuse because you get some sick pleasure out of seeing how long it takes before we get fed up with these "missions" that I said earlier should be given to the academy students. At least then they'd be able to get some live experience of a mission while remaining safely inside the village. It might even deflate a few egos before they become ninja and take on a mission outside the village where their attitude only gets them killed!"

'Good point.' Sarutobi mused as he smoked his pipe. 'I can almost imagine her wearing the Hokage robes someday when she's older.'

"Very well then, I believe I have just the mission. You'll be bodyguards on a journey."

"Oh, so who is it that we'll be protecting?" 'I have no doubt that since it's a C-rank it's not likely we'll be protecting anyone really important. If it was, then the mission rank would be either B-rank or even A-rank. Giving us any S-rank missions would be just plain stupid. It'd be like asking us to commit suicide.'

"I'll introduce him to you. Please bring in our visitor."

When the door opened, Kaiya felt a little disappointed. 'I know I wasn't expecting much but seriously. Our client is an old man who doesn't mind drinking when it's only the middle of the day. Oh well, it's better than chasing after that damn cat to retrieve it for the Daimyo's wife.'

---------

A certain lady and her pet cat sneezed. The cat however took this as an opportunity to escape, only to be captured by teams ten and eight. They'd later be paid for the first joint D-rank mission with an added bonus of how swiftly they completed it, and earned themselves C-ranked missions as well.

---------

"What the, you expect me to believe that these brats are going to be protecting me? They hardly look like ninjas to me. The short one looks more like some pretty boy pretending to be a ninja."

Funny on what a kunoichi can be capable of given the proper motivation.

"Please refrain from insulting me and my teammates, sir. Otherwise you will have to deal with the consequences." Kaiya stated calmly with a smile. However, despite her cheery exterior, she was generating a strong aura of killing intent. Even the Hokage was affected. "Oh and just so you know. I'm a girl. While I may be a genin like my teammates, we can hold our own, and Kakashi-sensei who is a jounin will also be protecting you."

'Note to self, don't ever upset her again.' "Alright, I am the super bridge builder, Tazuna. I'm counting on you to provide super protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge."

"Very well, Tazuna. My team and I will make sure to get you there safely." Kakashi said before he went to retrieve the mission scroll that would provide the details for their mission.

"Kaiya, please come here a moment. I wish to give you something before you leave. Consider a gift to celebrate your first C-rank mission."

"Huh?" This got Kaiya's attention since it was rather unusual behavior for the old man.

"Here, I felt it best to entrust this to you." Sarutobi handed her what looked to be a storage scroll. "Inside of that scroll is one of the things that you brought back with you when you returned from your last surprise vacation. There is also a scroll that should interest you."

Only Sarutobi and Iruka saw the haunted look on Kaiya's face as she held the scroll. She clearly had a good idea what one of the things that were inside of it and didn't feel worthy.

"Before you protest my choice, I should inform you that Ibiki is grateful for the gift you brought him even though your actions were questionable. Also, I did not make this choice lightly, Kaiya Namikaze."

The only one not shocked by this was Tazuna. Not much of a surprise really, yet even he noticed the tears falling from Kaiya's eyes. He may have been drunk but he wasn't stupid. Sure the girl was scary and that was a good enough reason to keep quiet. The name sounded odd but it seemed best to not ask. Also, he didn't feel like ruining the mood just so he can get home sooner.

"Th-Thank you. I'll do my best to make sure you don't regret this, uncle Saru." Sarutobi and Iruka were treated to the rare sight of Kaiya smiling with joy. To them it was a smile of an angel that can make a person content by simply seeing it.

"Hey Kaiya, hurry up already. We have a mission, you know."

"Baka! Fine, I'm coming. We certainly can't have you showing off and getting yourself killed in the process. If that happens then the only Sharingan wielder in the village will be the open pervert."

"Now that's low. Attacking a guy's reading material."

"If you don't like the insults then don't go reading that book of yours in public. Now hurry up, I'm sure Tazuna would like to get to his destination as soon as possible."

---------

At the village gates, the members of squad seven had assembled and were ready to escort their client.

"Hey why aren't you carrying a pack with you like the others?"

"I have learned how to keep my supplies stored away in a special scroll. A pack would be pointless and only get in the way in a fight should we encounter any ninja."

"I wouldn't worry about that Kaiya. On C-rank missions there aren't any ninja battles. The only problems we should worry about would just be bandits and highwaymen."

Kaiya noticed that Tazuna was nervous but she didn't say anything. She already had an idea of what was going on in Nami no Kuni thanks to her last surprise vacation. 'He better have a good reason for trying to hide things from us. Putting my teammates at risk just because he was being a cheapskate will only get him killed. Who gets to kill him will only depend on who's still alive.' "I'll take point. I'll let you know if I spot anything." Kaiya stated as she started walking while she pulled out a book to read.

"How are you going to spot anything when you're reading that book?" Tazuna asked while sweating nervously.

"I have my ways. Besides, since this is a C-rank mission we don't need to worry about possible ninja coming after you, right?"

"Uh, right."

This caused the desired effect that Kaiya wanted. The rest of her team was alerted to the possible deception and her teammates looked to their sensei to see what they should do next.

"Alright then, let's head to Nami no Kuni." 'Hopefully Kaiya's concerns aren't anything to worry about. Besides, we need proof that he was withholding information about the mission before we can cancel it. With Kaiya taking point we should have an early warning of any danger.'

Squad seven and their client soon made their way to Nami no Kuni. Despite Kaiya's warning they made good time and hadn't been confronted by any ninja, yet…

Sasuke and Sakura were starting to wonder just what made Kaiya think that they'd encounter ninja on this mission. Kakashi had already given them a lecture on the ninja villages and said that there weren't any ninja villages in Nami no Kuni. They couldn't just ask her outright since she warned them subtly. She made them learn their lesson about stuff like that the last time she had them go through a training exercise that she setup for them to pick up on being subtle. The punishment for slipping up was painful but at least they were alive. Kaiya even created kage bunshin that would mimic squad seven and show them what could have happened if the attacks were lethal. Kakashi had thought she overdid it a little but understood her reasons for her actions. What she did only showed them how much she cared and how badly she didn't want to lose them. So they took her subtle warning seriously and kept alert. It was a good thing too. They almost let the puddle slip passed them unnoticed.

Kaiya made it more noticeable when she stared at it and then looked up to the sky. If it weren't for the seriousness of the situation, then they could have sworn she'd shout to the ninja about their lame choice in hiding themselves. It hadn't rained in weeks and the puddle was too large and poorly placed for it to have been made by some one who needed relief. Even a bandit or highwayman had more decency to respect the road since it was their source of income. At least, that's what Kaiya said when she put them through a similar scenario one time. Sasuke and Sakura couldn't be sure but they had a feeling she got a kick out of her training exercises. The mock mission scenarios she ran seemed more like torture on either their bodies or their minds. When they learned that one of her senseis was a torture and interrogation specialist then they knew. She was enjoying their pain. Her exercises were her way of getting revenge for the treatment they gave her back at the academy.

Their musings had ended when two mist ninja had revealed themselves from the puddle they passed. Kakashi was quickly wrapped up by a bladed chain and ripped to shreds when the ninja retracted a little of the chain into their gauntlets.

"One down." The two mist ninja said in unison. They then got behind Kaiya and looked like they were about to do the same to her.

"Two down."

Sasuke exploded into action by throwing a shuriken that caught their chain and sent it to the tree. The kunai that went through the shuriken's hole secured the chain to the tree. This left the mist ninja stuck to the tree and vulnerable to the kick that Sasuke delivered them after he landed on their gauntlets. The ninja did something to release the chain from their gauntlets, and charged their way to Tazuna. Sakura quickly positioned herself in front of Tazuna and had a kunai ready to defend herself with. She needn't have worried since Sasuke blurred into existence in front of her. They both saw Kakashi suddenly just appear in front of them with the mist ninja's neck surrounded by Kakashi's arm. Effectively stopping him in his tracks and ending the threat since his partner had been rendered unable to fight by a Kaiya kicking him in the solar plexus. This disrupted his ability to breath and left him vulnerable to Kakashi's strike to the neck. He was held in Kakashi's other arm as his partner ran into Kakashi's free arm.

Kakashi complimented his team on a job well done and told them of who they just fought. The two ninja were chuunin level ninja that were known as the Demon Brothers and originated from Kirigakure. He also mentioned to Tazuna that he would like a word with him later, but Kakashi still had a question for Kaiya.

"Kaiya, why did you hesitate like that?"

"Sorry sensei, for a split second I was reminded of a bad memory."

"Aoi Rokusho?"

Sasuke and Sakura didn't need to be told who that was. Aoi Rokusho was the one that Kaiya had crossed out in her bingo book before she got the newest issue. When they asked why Aoi was crossed out she flatly told them. "Because he's dead." The look on her face and tone of her voice told them to drop it.

"Yes. For a moment, his image was overlapped onto the mist ninja."

"It happens sometimes. First kills are almost always difficult to handle." This certainly shocked the others.

'To think, she has already taken a life and yet she's still just a kid. She might even have to kill again and it will be my fault because I didn't tell their village the truth.' Tazuna thought with guilt in his heart.

"If you'd like to talk about, I'll listen. You can't keep it bottled up though."

"I know. However, we have a mission to do, and our dishonest client better have a very good reason why he tried to hide the fact that ninja would be coming after him." Kaiya stated just before she used a kunai to stab her scratched hand.

"Kaiya! Why did you do that?" Sakura shouted with worry as she made her way to treat Kaiya's wound, only to stare with amazement as she watched the wound close on its own. 'It's amazing how she can heal so fast. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised considering the circumstances.'

"I may have only been scratched but there was poison in the wound. Those two must have coated their claws with it and forced me to take action after the injury occurred. Losing a little blood is a small price to pay for purging the poison."

"Sometimes I really worry about you."

"The concern is appreciated, but we need to get moving."

"Wait!" Apparently, the Demon Brothers that had been tied to a tree finally regained consciousness. "How did you find out about our ambush?"

"You bakas call that an ambush? The puddle stood out like a sore thumb since it hadn't rained in weeks!" Kaiya practically looked like a mother scolding her kids for doing something stupid and it was only enforced when the Demon Brothers looked like scolded children.

Squad seven soon walked away, leaving the two for ANBU to find later.

"Brother, do you think that was what it might have been like to have a mother of our own scolding us?"

"Probably…"

"Funny, it felt kind of nice."

"Yeah…"


	6. Chapter 5

Forgiveness of a Kitsune

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did then there would have been serious changes made to the story.**

Chapter 5

"You failed! I paid you good money to kill the old man."

"Stop whining. This time I'll go myself and get rid of him."

"Heh, yeah well you should know that the old man has got ninja protecting him. It's not going to be as easy now that they're on alert because of the Demon Brothers' failure."

"Who do you think you're talking to? There's a reason why I'm called Zabuza Momochi the Demon of the Bloody Mist."

---------

The journey across the water was a quiet one. Squad seven had kept themselves busy by reading while being on alert for possible attack. They got to see the impressive looking bridge even though it wasn't completed yet. Kakashi had asked Tazuna to explain himself or he'll just end the mission when they reached shore. Tazuna felt obligated to tell them and informed them of Gatou's oppressive hold of Nami no Kuni and the poverty caused by it. Obviously, the bridge that Tazuna is building is a threat to Gatou's control over the imports and exports that go through the shipping lines. When Tazuna started to lay on the guilt trip, Kaiya stopped him.

"Baka, stop with the guilt trip already. We would have helped you anyway since this Gatou guy needs to be stopped. Granted, we're just a squad of three genin and one jounin, but we'll make sure to protect you as well as the bridge you're building. Besides, I can't read my book with you being so loud." 'The noise could also attract unwanted attention, but there's no need to tell that to the old man. It would have ruined the priceless look on his face.' Kaiya simply smirked under her facemask that she put up. She and Sakura had also adjusted their headbands to cover their heads like how Ibiki has his headband. They were wandering into hostile territory and so stealth would be the prudent choice. Having a head of bright pink or moon-kissed hair giving them away would only get them killed. Diminishing the amount that can be seen could prove beneficial. The only reason why Sasuke and Kakashi didn't do the same is because Sasuke's hair was black and less likely to stick out, and Kakashi was a jounin so he could take care of himself. Sides, the enemy might look at his hairstyle and pause to think about how weird it seems.

After coming out of the tunnel that the ferryman took them through, they were treated to a beautiful sight. 'Nami no Kuni may not have a ninja village because of its natural protection from being surrounded by water, but this place would certainly be a good choice for there to be a ninja village.' Kaiya mused as they slowly reached shore.

'All that effort of coming here quietly, wasted. Just because he decided to use the engine to take off. He totally ruined our stealthy entrance by attracting attention of whoever heard that.' Kaiya thought sourly as she watched the ferryman leave.

'We'll probably have to fight a jounin the next time a ninja attacks. I hope Kaiya doesn't hesitate like last time.' Kakashi sighed wearily as he walked and watched how Kaiya took point again.

Things were going good until Kaiya threw her kunai into the bushes.

"What the hell, brat! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

Sakura investigated what was hit, or rather, what was almost hit by Kaiya's kunai. "It was just a rabbit, Kaiya." She held up the scared little critter to show it to Kaiya. Sakura stopped herself from scolding her teammate when she saw the expression on Kaiya's face.

"Ah, crap! Kawarimi!" Kaiya exclaimed.

"Get down!" Kakashi ordered as he noticed the large chunk of metal that was shaped like a sword spinning its way towards them. Fortunately, it missed them and hit a tree and got lodged into it. Suddenly a man stood on top of the sword's handle and spoke.

"I can see now why the Demon Brothers were defeated so easily."

"Put a shirt on Zabuza Momochi!" Kaiya shouted, effectively ruining the dramatic atmosphere and informing her teammates of his identity. Sasuke and Sakura had each been given a bingo book when Kaiya decided to have them capable of quickly identifying ninja that they might encounter. So Kaiya's comment had not only calmed them down but also reminded them of what they read about Zabuza Momochi. In a way, what Kaiya did and Zabuza's reaction made things seem so unreal that it was actually funny. If Zabuza had eyebrows, then they'd be twitching madly at the sight of three genin mocking him. "You may be the demon of the bloody mist and one of the seven swordsmen of the mist, but you really need to work on your choice in clothes."

"Ah, Kaiya, it might not be wise to upset him. Even missing-nins don't appreciate comments like that. Anyway, protect Tazuna. I'll handle Zabuza." Kakashi stated as he had his hand move his headband and uncovered his left eye.

"The Sharingan, I'm honored that you would take me so seriously, Kakashi. Back when I was with Kirigakure, I had a bingo book that had information about you. It said that you are the man who copied over a thousand jutsus, the Copy Ninja, Sharingan no Kakashi. No doubt, I will have to kill you first before I kill the old man, right?"

"Right."

"Very well."

Kaiya, Sasuke, and Sakura surrounded the old man with Kaiya in front and the others at her right and left sides respectively. As Kakashi stood in front of them, they all watched Zabuza stand on the water's surface and looked as though he would perform a jutsu. One which the three genin recognized immediately thanks to the information that Kaiya had provided in her Suiton book.

"Ninpou: Kirigakure no jutsu"

"Well this isn't good. With him being a master of silent killing we will have to be extremely careful." Kaiya said as she activated her eyes to hopefully find the strongest trace of chakra, only to listen to Zabuza be curious at how a genin knows about him as well as his speech of the eight points that can be used to kill. 'If only the fourth tomoe had been achieved sooner, then I might have been able to see him in this mist. Instead I have to wait a little while longer. The advanced level will unlock in just a few days. It is ironic that I might find myself needing it now instead of when it unlocks.' '**Sorry kit, it's not like I can help you speed up the process. That would leave you unable to fight should Zabuza decide to make a move.**' 'It's alright. Besides, I think I found him or a clone of him anyways.'

To everyone else, Kaiya seemed to snap back to reality the moment Zabuza appeared in the space behind them but in front of Tazuna. Almost immediately, one of her kunai was soon lodged into Zabuza's body hitting what would have been the heart had Kakashi's kunai to his kidney not revealed that the Zabuza they saw was just a mizu bunshin. Then Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi and sliced him in half after the mizu bunshin fell apart, or at least he sliced a mizu bunshin of Kakashi. The real one had appeared behind him when he stood still looking like an idiot with the stunned expression on his face. Kakashi had a kunai at Zabuza's neck.

"It's over, Zabuza."

"Do you really think so, Kakashi?" Zabuza asked before he dissolved and revealed himself to being a mizu bunshin. The real Zabuza that had appeared behind him swung his sword at Kakashi. He missed when Kakashi dodged and positioned himself to perform a strong kick which sent Kakashi flying. Before he could perform the next attack he was stopped by the makibishi that Kakashi dropped onto the ground. Zabuza simply turned his back to Kakashi and jumped backwards onto the water. When Kakashi came to the surface, Zabuza trapped him.

"Water prison no jutsu"

"Apparently escaping to the water was a bad idea."

"You got that right, Kakashi. I now have you in a special and inescapable prison, and moving around will only make things worse for you. Now then, Kakashi, I believe we can finish things later. After I take care of them first, and I think I'll start with that boy." Zabuza performed a hand seal with his free hand. "Mizu bunshin no jutsu"

The water sloshed around a little as a mass of water began to take shape and it took on the form of Zabuza. The clone then proceeded to talk trash.

"You brats honestly believe yourselves to be ninjas? A ninja is some one who has survived countless brushes with death. Once you're good enough to be listed in my bingo book, then you can start calling yourselves, ninja. Brats like you don't deserve to be considered ninjas." The bunshin performed a hand seal with one hand and created enough mist to hide; completely ignorant of Kaiya's thought that she simply needed to have her name listed in the bingo book to meet his expectations.

Kaiya soon found herself attacked by the bunshin and realized something as her headband was knocked off her head. 'He was talking about me when he said "…and I think I'll start with that boy." I let Tazuna slide since he was just an old man and a civilian, but Zabuza is not going to get away with calling me a boy. I became a kunoichi and trained hard to be one worthy of respect. Calling me a boy is to insult my efforts. He's going down. First, I better get my headband back. Maybe it's time to unveil a technique. It may be wasteful but I still have my trump card. This might serve as a good lesson of what Kakashi-sensei said about impossible choices.'

"Hey, Mr. No-eyebrows, put this in your bingo book…" Everyone watched as Kaiya handed a Fuuma shuriken to Sasuke and began to mold her chakra. "… The one who will become Hokage of Konohagakure… S**he** is Kaiya Namikaze, member of squad seven and teammate of Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, future legendary ninja!"

The only reaction from Zabuza was a slight widening of the eyes before they narrowed.

While Sasuke and Sakura weren't sure about Kaiya's proclamation of them becoming legendary, they couldn't help but feel a bit of pride in the fact that Kaiya thought so highly of them. Sasuke also noticed that she gave him two Fuuma shurikens and that they didn't feel like a normal ones. When he saw her choice of attack he had a pretty good idea what she had in mind. Kaiya was going after the bunshin and expected him to go after the real Zabuza. He would not disappoint. Though in his mind, her choice of attack seemed rather odd…

"Let's go wild!" Kaiya charged and Sasuke jumped into the air soon afterwards. The real Zabuza and his bunshin didn't move. Zabuza was too amazed by Kaiya's attack. 'Her chakra, she's holding it in her hand. It's so strong it's visible!' He watched as she plunged her attack into his mizu bunshin.

"Rasengan!" The mizu bunshin simply exploded and Kaiya ducked down to grab her headband and avoid the Fuuma shuriken.

Zabuza got control of himself in time to catch the shuriken, only to see that there was another in its shadow. Zabuza had no choice on what to do next. He jumped up to avoid it. As it passed under him he landed back on the water's surface, only to hear the shuriken poof. The one behind him had apparently been a bunshin of Kaiya disguised as a shuriken. The bunshin threw a kunai at his arm that was maintaining the water prison. This forced him to release the jutsu and notice that when the bunshin dispelled, so did the shuriken in his hand. 'What? When was she able to perform all of this? The only time she was out of my sight was when she was in mist! Of course! She used the mist to cover up her movements. Clever girl, but she won't get away with this.'

"Uh, Zabuza, when you imprison some one it would be wise to make sure you got the right person."

Zabuza's eyes couldn't get any wider as he watched Kakashi come out of hiding. He almost didn't notice the dark chuckling from what was probably Kakashi's bunshin that he had kept prisoner. Thankfully he did notice and jumped away in time to avoid the explosion caused by the bunshin. 'What in the world is going on? When did he have time to make a bunshin and how did he manage to make it explode like that? Has that monkey been toying with me all this time?'

Kakashi, slightly refreshed, picked up the fight were it left off. By creeping out and upsetting Zabuza with his mimicking he was able to defeat the missing-nin.

"Can you see the future?"

"Yes, and you're future is death."

Before Kakashi could make the killing blow, two senbon needles hit Zabuza in the neck. His lifeless body fell to the ground.

"Looks like your prediction came true, he did die." Everyone looked to see a hunter-nin appearing on top of a tree limb. "Thank you for assisting me in eliminating him." The hunter-nin picked up Zabuza's body. "This body has many secrets inside of it and I must dispose of it. Please excuse me." He soon disappeared by using a mist shunshin, but not before noticing the look in Kaiya's eyes. To the hunter-nin it appeared as though she was remembering a painful memory. Tears flooded from her eyes and despite the distant look in them the hunter-nin could see she had the same look in her eyes as some one the hunter-nin knew. She reminded him of a person who was hated for something beyond that person's control, but it seemed that the hatred aimed at her was much worse. Even though she seemed to be happy with her comrades it looked as if she felt hollow inside. He would have to ponder on that later.

No one stopped the hunter-nin even though something about it had been bugging Sasuke and Sakura. For the moment, they had one unconscious jounin and an unresponsive genin. Fortunately, Sakura was able to get Kaiya to regain some semblance of awareness and Sasuke got to skip out on carrying Kakashi. Sasuke wasn't sure whether he wanted to know how or why Sakura was carrying a camera with her, but he wasn't going to complain since they just gained perfect blackmail material. They simply needed to make a few copies before showing Kakashi and Kaiya the picture of Kaiya carrying Kakashi bridal style. Tazuna led the way after he got himself under control. Upon arrival to Tazuna's home they were introduced to Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, and had been shown a place to let their sensei and teammate rest. It was strange to see Kaiya stay close to Kakashi but the only answer they got out of her was that he needed some one to guard him until he woke up and she was best suited for that. They watched her perform some sort of jutsu where she donated some of her chakra to Kakashi, and then pass out a moment after she had closed her eyes for a second. It looks like Sasuke and Sakura were going to have to keep watch until Kaiya woke up. No way were they going to upset her by moving her from the room. She might decide on giving them some intense training since there doesn't seem to be any threat to Tazuna at the moment due to Zabuza being dead.

---------

Unknown to squad seven, Zabuza was far from dead. His partner, the false hunter-nin, Haku, had managed to convince him to wake and informed him of some interesting information about the Namikaze girl. Zabuza had believed that he might be able to use this to his advantage. However, he had to kill the bridge builder first and that wasn't going to be easy considering the skills of the ninja protecting the old man. The next time they fought he would need to bring both of his two tools with him. Hopefully the other one would be able to subdue the girl so that she might join him. For now, Zabuza simply needed to rest back at their base. He might be able to move an arm so he can read his favorite book. It's took bad his tools don't seem to like the idea of him reading such material right in front of them. They really need to get laid.

---------

Surprisingly, it didn't take long for Kakashi to awaken after Kaiya fell unconscious. He was curious as to why she knew such a jutsu, and the fact that she felt it necessary to use it after she had already expended a lot of chakra in the fight. What Sasuke and Sakura may not have known or noticed was that while Zabuza did capture a kage bunshin in his water prison, it was not a kage bunshin created by Kakashi. In fact, he was apparently replaced with a kage bunshin disguised as him just before landing in the water. Another kage bunshin was waiting where he suddenly found himself. The fact that it looked like Naruto Uzumaki shocked him just enough to listen to what the bunshin had to say. Kakashi had his reservations about the plan but he decided to go along with it and covered his eye to stop the chakra drain so that he could rest and recover.

He respected her desire to keep the truth of the event a secret. It may bite him in the butt later, yet the only people who will know the truth will be him and Kaiya. Kakashi had to admit that she did a good job of mimicking him. Even he was fooled and he was the real Kakashi. His students made him proud though. They displayed excellent teamwork even though Kaiya was practically in full control of the situation and had used the whole thing as a live exercise. This didn't seem rather appealing to Kakashi but at least she agreed to not do something like that again.

Kakashi did find it unfortunate that Kaiya reacted the way she did to how Zabuza was taken down. It was obvious she was reminded of the time she took out Aoi Rokusho with just a senbon needle.

--- [Flashback no jutsu ---

She had hid her presence from him. When she was sure of a hit, she launched the senbon at Aoi. He never had a chance. Even a scratch would have killed him due to the fact she laced the senbon with a poison and a stimulant that would cause the poison to spread faster.

What happened afterwards was forever burned into her memory. It could have been her choice of poisons or her timing but either way she had to watch as three rain ninja showed up and two of them were killed by Aoi before they could react. The third one got away to report to the Amegakure of Aoi's betrayal. He never saw Aoi fall over dead a moment later. The poison finally killed him by doing what it was designed to do. Cause a heart attack. Senbon needles were small in size so Kaiya had thought she could remove the needle and take what Aoi stole from Konoha when he used Ibiki's little brother the same way Mizuki used her. Death by heart attack would have seemed suspicious since Aoi was pretty healthy, but Ame wouldn't be able to blame anyone since they'd be laughed at for even trying. However, now Aoi will be branded a missing-nin by Ame because he killed two rain ninja and the third one that survived wasn't aware of why Aoi attacked them. It wasn't something Kaiya wanted but she wasn't about to let the opportunity it provided slip by. She merely had to move the body while remain undetected. Not easy but surprisingly it wasn't as hard as she thought. Then again the one who got away appeared to be the slow one of the group and no one knew of Aoi's "betrayal" so that just made it easier with the amount of time she had available.

Kaiya used that time to scratch Aoi's headband with a kunai to make it seem like he abandoned his village by choice. The next part she didn't like but she wasn't about to carry his whole body with her. That would be inefficient.

--- [Flashback Kai ---

'Well, at least Kaiya's story seemed to have had an effect on Sasuke. Last I saw of him he looked as if he was reconsidering his desire for revenge. Finding out that your teammate had a similar goal and how your teammate felt afterwards must have made him think. I wonder what Sakura was thinking about when Kaiya had mentioned that after the whole incident her pranks seemed like a better way to get revenge? I'll probably find out sometime.'

It didn't take long to figure out that Zabuza was still alive and that the hunter-nin was probably working for him. This fact may have unsettled everyone but the brat, who they learned was Tazuna's grandson Inari, only made it worse by irritating Kaiya. She had sent a kage bunshin to scold him while she stayed in the room with everyone else. Sasuke and Kakashi were better capable of hiding their irritation. Sakura simply tried not to say anything but one could tell what she thought of Inari. Regardless, they all agreed to get some training in while they guard Tazuna. Squad seven and Tazuna's family also got to see what was inside the scroll that the Hokage gave Kaiya.

Poof!

"I still don't get what he was thinking by entrusting this to me."

"What is that thing? It hardly looks like much." Obviously Tazuna didn't know that some ninja tools aren't what they seem to be at first glance.

"Tazuna, this is the Raijin Sword. It may not seem like much at first glance but this is one of the legendary swords and it was once wielded by the Nidaime Hokage. Aoi Rokusho had managed to trick one of his students into stealing it as well as a special scroll, but it was Kaiya who brought them both back. The fact that the Sandaime entrusted the sword to Kaiya speaks highly of her." Kakashi had explained while Kaiya was looking at the scroll that the old man had sealed into the storage scroll.

"Crap! I can't learn this technique!"

"Why not? It looks okay to me."

"Sakura, this technique is the Hiraishin and I can't learn it. At least, I can't learn it right now anyways."

"She's right Sakura. Learning that technique now would be a bad idea." Kakashi stated after he got over being stunned.

"How is it a bad idea? I can understand that she'd have to train in secret to keep the council from knowing but considering we're not anywhere near Konoha it's doubtful they'll know about it."

"Sasuke, if I try to learn the technique now, I'll only put the team in danger should I screw up which I'm sure will happen at some point. Basically, should I be incapable of fighting for an extended period of time the risks will increase and our chances of survival will decrease. Had our only problems been the basic thugs, I'm sure that my absence would have hardly made a difference other than how long it would take to deal with them. I'm still stumped as to why I was entrusted with the Raijin Sword, but I won't look a gift horse in the mouth. I'll just have to learn the Hiraishin after the danger is over. After all, the bridge would still be in danger even after completion and I'm sure that Gatou would try something. We can only hope he'll stick his neck out long enough for us to handle him and free Nami no Kuni from his control. Who knows, we may even be able to convince Zabuza to join Konoha if he's the kind of person I think he is."

Kakashi tried to explain the problems that could arise from that, but Kaiya managed to pull some convincing arguments. Fact is, she was rather well informed due to her travels and had heard a few details about the seven swordsmen of the mist. Specifically, Kaiya had managed to discover some odd facts that would make it seem like the seven swordsmen were framed and betrayed by their village. It was enough to hopefully convince Kirigakure to back off. Kakashi had no choice but to concede victory to Kaiya. The next topic to worry about was what to train them.

Sasuke and Sakura said they already had an idea of what they wished to do for training and planned to find a place to practice. Kaiya offered to give Sakura some kenjutsu training so she could wield the Raijin Sword to keep herself safe during the mission. Sakura protested at first but conceded when Kaiya pointed out that the mission was at least A-rank now. Sakura would need an edge and the only sure thing available was the sword. Kaiya would be helping Sasuke try to awaken his Sharingan. Since they were away from Konoha she could increase the intensity that should awaken it. All she needed to do was make sure of was that he'd be able to fight, survive, and still be able to have kids so he could restore his clan. The sadistic smirk made Sasuke shiver. Kaiya also offered to do some kenjutsu training with Kakashi after he recovered enough. When he asked why, her only response was to pull out a scroll and unseal what was inside it.

"TenTen and I worked on it. Apparently, adding some special chakra made it gain unique properties. Don't worry though; we carefully designed it so that it could be safely wielded by anyone. Hopefully, you'll keep it with you and use it well." Kaiya said as she handed to Kakashi what looked like a crimson version of the weapon his father wielded as well as a scroll that probably explains the special properties.

"Thank you, Kaiya." Kakashi said while thinking, 'I wonder what Kaiya's bunshin learned since it didn't sound like she scolded the boy, and why did Tsunami wince at Kaiya's name?'

---------

Failure is not something that Gatou appreciates. His whining was not appreciated by Zabuza. Anyone who irritates Zabuza is not appreciated by his two loyal tools. Usually this would result in death for the irritant. So in other words, Gatou got off easy with just a broken arm and two scared bodyguards. Too bad he didn't see it that way and Zabuza was fortunate that he was just a civilian. If Gatou knew how to hide his intentions from being reflected by his body's movements, he certainly didn't do so as he left. Unfortunate for him, but fortunate for Zabuza since his other tool was watching Gatou carefully. Zabuza was certainly going to need to make careful steps to survive.

---------

Training went well enough. Sakura had the basic kenjutsu skills covered in rather quick order. It's to be expected seeing as how she had been able to do the academy taijutsu stances with textbook perfection. Kaiya simply had to help her build up what she had been lacking and provided her occasional scrolls of various taijutsu fighting styles. Sakura was still working on something that Kaiya had hinted about back when they first started. The secret technique that Tsunade herself created. If combined with her knowledge of taijutsu then she'd be pretty devastating and not have to worry about bulging muscles. Okay, so that last part was just Kaiya's attempt at appealing to her vanity which had decreased somewhat, but in the end Sakura appreciated Kaiya's help.

Sasuke was beginning to wonder if his Sharingan was worth the hell that Kaiya was putting him through. A hidden army of kage bunshins kept him on his toes while in the forest. Various weapons were thrown at him and would go poof before he could use them against the bunshins. He was also only allowed one kunai in each hand to block should he be unable to dodge. Sasuke also had to stay in a designated area. It didn't help that the occasional jutsu was used but at least the damage was minimal. The only rule besides his limitation on weaponry was that he was not to leave the area until Kaiya came to retrieve him or he awakened the Sharingan. Oh the torture…

Sasuke and Sakura had managed to get a good grip on the shunshin no jutsu. They still had to perform the hand seals but at least they could perform the jutsu. The next step would be to personalize it. Good thing Kaiya and her book proved to help them greatly.

Kakashi had recovered a little quicker than he estimated and the theory going around was that Kaiya had been donating chakra in small doses. He had warned her to not push herself so much since she was the one guarding Tazuna whenever he left the house. Her reports of how bad the poverty was may have helped him understand her motivation but she had to pace herself.

Her army of kage bunshin that was training Sasuke and the ones she made to help with the bridge was already taxing enough. The fact that she had her bunshins perform henge a lot didn't help matters. Kakashi could understand the need for raising morale at the bridge but did she have to imitate people? When he arrived at the bridge he had almost thought that the whole village had just shown up to help out. Granted they appeared to be dressed in civilian clothes but he still recognized everyone. It was a good thing Sasuke wasn't with him though he might have either attacked the Itachi clone or be frozen at the sight of Fugaku Uchiha and Mikoto Uchiha. Seeing the Shodaime, Nidaime, Sandaime, and Yondaime was a bit much for Kakashi to handle. Granted the old man probably wasn't dead but the version he was seeing looked like a much younger Sandaime and what Sarutobi must looked like and would have looked like if he knew how to perform Tsunade's youth technique. Kaiya suspected it wasn't just some special genjutsu but she couldn't be sure.

What was really creepy was seeing Orochimaru with a kick me sign on the back of his outfit and what looked like a little Anko looking pretty guilty. Comic relief aside he noted that there was also an older Anko helping the villagers with some part of the bridge. Finally, in the middle of it all was Kaiya, standing still as she was surrounded by what looked like five bunshins disguised as the five kages. Each kage's face was covered so that the only thing you could see was their eyes which were shadowed by their hats. They were ordered alphabetically with the first being in front of Kaiya while the others were evenly spaced around her in a clockwise fashion. The Hokage, Kazekage, Mizukage, Raikage, and Tsuchikage carefully observed their designated zone and served as a defensive system that would protect Kaiya and alert the other bunshin in the area. Kaiya's idea of having them look like the kage was probably for the sake of intimidation.

It worked a little too well since some workers seemed unsettled by them. Kaiya had actually resorted to making a mockery bunshin. It was just a normal kage bunshin but one that was disguised as Gatou based on the descriptions of the man. This bunshin was made a mockery of constantly and improved the spirits of the workers as they continued to spend their time working.

Time that seemed to fly by as everyone prepared for when the next fight was to occur. Kakashi got some training in beforehand and was grateful for it. The only person who didn't seem to be grateful was Inari. They learned the story of Kaiza and gave Kaiya curious looks when they heard the name at first. She returned her own curious look as if to ask what their problem was and had left to train. Her last words before leaving were that she'd prove to the baka that heroes do exist.

---------

It was a beautiful morning in the forest. Haku was gathering herbs until he noticed some one just sleeping on the forest floor. Upon closer inspection he saw that it was the kunoichi that had controlled the fight with Zabuza from behind the scenes. She may have played a more dramatic role when it appeared her sensei was caught but she made it seem like her sensei had planned the whole thing. Haku could eliminate her now and diminish the threat to Zabuza…

…But he chose not to. Instead Haku gently woke Kaiya up.

"You should really wake up or you'll catch a cold."

"Heh, I haven't been sick a day in my life. Besides, I usually had to worry more about people doing what you were tempted to do just a moment ago."

"You mean people actually tried to kill you?" Haku asked as he looked curiously at Kaiya wondering when she woke up since the only thing she moved was her mouth. "By the way, what are you doing out here?"

Haku involuntarily drew breath in surprise at seeing Kaiya's eyes when she opened them. 'Her eyes seem so dull compared to before. They still have life in them but it's dim. What could have possibly happened to her?'

"Yes and to answer your question, I've been out here training."

"Training, are you a ninja?"

"Yeah, I'm a kunoichi, but for some reason people seem to mistake me for a boy. I guess you'd know how that feels since you're a boy that could pass for a girl. So what are you doing out here anyway?"

"I'm gathering herbs, but how did you know I was a boy?"

"The cloth around your neck hides the Adam's apple but you didn't hide your scent. If you'd like I could help you collect the herbs."

"Thank you."

"Your welcome, after all you spared my life so why not return the favor by helping you heal Zabuza. I just hope he'd consider joining the leaf village. I'm sure the three of you could find a home."

Haku had tensed when Kaiya mentioned Zabuza but relaxed and considered her words carefully. "Why do think that? After all, aren't we your enemy?"

"You were simply hired to do a job that was in conflict with ours. However, while our client might have been dishonest and left out the fact that there were ninja after him, I'm sure you've noticed that your client plans to betray you. From what I've heard about this Gatou, he'd hire missing-nins to do a job and regardless of their success he'd have an army of thugs swarm them in their weakened states. A few thugs die but so does the missing-nin. Those that survive are paid and Gatou goes about hiring another missing-nin. It wouldn't matter how powerful or well prepared the missing-nins are. Gatou would just use them and stab them in the back when they are weak. A weapon or a tool is treated with more respect than that. To think, people use to consider me a demon before I tricked them into thinking that I died. Back then if I displayed any ability beyond the level of an idealistic idiot, I would have been killed. A kekkei genkai would have meant instant death. Ironic when you consider the village's philosophy and how they looked down on Mizu no Kuni for their purges." Kaiya closed her eyes almost as if imagining what it must have been like, only to open them when Haku placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, sorry about what I said. A little brat tore open a wound I had thought was healed a long time ago. Still, if Zabuza's willing to consider it then I'm sure I can convince the Hokage to let him, you, and your friend join the leaf village. It'd be nice to have a place to call home wouldn't it? Please tell him to at least consider it okay?"

Haku could sense Kaiya's honesty pouring out of her. It was a trick he had learned from his rather stoic friend during their travels and training. Kaiya may have been able to manipulate their last battle but that was by taking advantage of the opportunities she had to make her moves. They may have been unnoticed by everyone but Haku was observing the entire battle and saw all of Kaiya's movements. Of the entire group she was the real danger. Kakashi may have the Sharingan but he was only a threat so long as you looked him in the eye. An honest offer from her made her words have more impact. Zabuza might actually consider her offer but he was hired by Gatou to kill the bridge builder. It won't be easy to convince him. On the other hand, Gatou probably plans to betray them so they could just stall for time and wait for him to show. Kaiya's strong belief of his betrayal only cements the suspicion. 'Very well then…'

"I will try to convince him to consider it but do not be surprised if we fight anyway. Zabuza might need to see Gatou actually betray him before he decides."

"I understand, but um…"

"What's wrong?"

"Well I was wondering…"

"Yes?"

"Would you… Tell me why you have this herb in your pile? It tends to cause constipation and I don't see you as the type to perform pranks on some one. Unless you plan to use it on the third person whose scent is on you. Did he happen to upset you or something?"

"Not really but thanks for pointing out that herb. I might have ended up causing Zabuza some problems." 'For a moment I had almost thought she'd ask me to go on a date with her. Perhaps she wanted to but decided against it for some reason. Either way she was right about the herb. Maybe I should hold onto it. The herb might come in handy or I could try to use it as a prank when this is over. Using the herb on him might be a bit cruel but at least he's healthy and will live a long life thanks to Lady Tsunade healing him. We were fortunate to find her when we did. I'm still amazed that some one like her was running away from debt collectors though.'

"Yeah, anyone who ate that thing would certainly be unable to fully concentrate in a fight. It might be about as bad as when the old man used a bad herb to smoke in his pipe. He was lucky that he didn't need to do any important Hokage duties at the time. I still remember how he danced around acting silly." Kaiya snickered at the memories. "Anyways, I better get going before everyone starts worrying about me. It was nice meeting you, uh…"

Haku chuckled at how Kaiya neglected to ask him his name. "It's Haku."

"Haku… Nice name. Mine's Kaiya, but you already knew that." Kaiya kindly smiled as she headed back to Tazuna's house, and met Sasuke along the way.

"It was nice meeting you too Kaiya." Haku said before disappearing.


	7. Chapter 6

Forgiveness of a Kitsune

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did then there would have been serious changes made to the story.**

Chapter 6

Kakashi wasn't pleased. For all he knew Kaiya could have compromised the mission with her actions. Hopefully her leap of faith doesn't bite them in the butt later. She at least provided helpful information about when to expect Zabuza's attack. This gave Tazuna the chance to have the workers take the day off so as to keep them from harm. All in all, Kaiya probably saved a few lives by simply helping this Haku person pick herbs. She also mentioned that there might be another accomplice besides Haku. The more disturbing part was that Kaiya had a strong feeling that Haku has a kekkei genkai.

Sakura had asked how she was sure. Kaiya simply said that Haku had eyes like hers and a kekkei genkai was the only thing that made sense. Kakashi got the hint first and told Sasuke and Sakura what Kaiya was talking about. Kekkei genkai were frowned upon in Mizu no Kuni and had been viewed with such fear that anyone caught with a kekkei genkai would mean death for that person. They were going to have to be on their guard since the other accomplice might also have a kekkei genkai and they don't even know what Haku is capable of.

Kaiya simply reported that Haku had knowledge of herbs and she noticed Haku's large chakra reserves. Based on Haku's scent Kaiya determined that Haku was the false hunter-nin. The senbon skills further proved that Haku had medical knowledge. The large chakra reserves were probably more for Haku's kekkei genkai than any medical jutsus. Unfortunately, Kaiya didn't manage to find out what Haku's kekkei genkai might have been capable of. The only clue was Haku's clothes. His kekkei genkai will probably involve ice.

After Kaiya's report, Sasuke found himself agreeing to her twist in his training. His Sharingan seemed as stubborn as he is and the twist Kaiya had in mind sounded like a good idea. He regretted it later when Kaiya went so far as to turn herself into a human pin cushion just to awaken his Sharingan. Sasuke certainly developed a hatred for Aoi Rokusho after the whole thing was over with. He may be dead but Kaiya's trick with having her kage bunshins imitate him had not only fooled Sasuke's mind into believing the exercise was an actual battle but also served to develop a certain hatred for the dead ninja.

In the end, Sasuke was not happy. The price for his activated Sharingan had resulted in Kaiya having a bunch of needles in her due to how he didn't take things seriously at first. If it weren't for Kaiya's tenant then she might have died because of the exercise. He actually wondered if his Sharingan was worth risking the death of some one he considered a friend. 'Is an increase in power really worth it if the price is sacrificing some one close to me?' Regardless, his training had only just started. He only had two tomoes in one eye and one tomoe in the other. Kaiya planned to train him some more to at least have two tomoes in both of his eyes. 'This is going to be a long day.' However, at least now Kaiya's tenant would be able to adjust his Sharingan a little. He may have to wait a year after his Sharingan fully develops, but at least he can achieve the Mangekyou without having to kill his best friend. Funny on how he didn't notice what else Akahana might have done to him. Oh well, he'll know soon enough someday.

---------

The remnants of the squashed apple that ended up on the floor were a good indication that Zabuza was ready to fight tomorrow. Haku had told him of the offer that was made. Normally he would have refused outright, but there was something about Kaiya that made him reconsider. Namikaze, he knew that name well.

Arashi Kazama, Yondaime, and Yellow Flash; these were used to keep a man's real name from slipping out to his enemies. Minato Namikaze, the one man who took down a large portion of rock ninja during the war between Konohagakure and Iwagakure. He was also the sensei of Kakashi Hatake, and became Hokage where he was viewed as the strongest Hokage.

Namikaze had even taken down a demon at the cost of his own life. Zabuza wasn't a fool though, he had a pretty good idea of what happened to the demon and it wasn't killed. It was probably sealed and he had a good idea of what it was sealed into. If what Haku told him was any indication that is. The fact that she had so much chakra at her disposal only proved it further. Kaiya's kage bunshins at the bridge did not go unnoticed, and Zabuza got a good laugh out of hearing about the comedy bunshin.

Now that they would have to fight, Zabuza couldn't help but feel a little apprehension. Still, he was hired to do a job and he had to do it. That didn't mean he couldn't stall for a little while and see if his client would really betray him.

---------

Apparently quoting the words of a Hokage about doing the right thing wasn't the best answer for Tazuna's question of why they still protected him despite his lie. It caused Inari to whine about how they were going to just get killed. They were merely nosy outsiders who spouted beautiful words about doing heroic things. They didn't know anything about him or what it's like to suffer. That last bit was a mistake since he was shouting those words at Kaiya mainly. Everyone except for Inari and Kaiya had shared a similar though.

'Ah, crap…'

It was a good thing Kaiya exhibited enough control to simply make everyone feel like they were having trouble breathing. Still, it felt like death itself was in the room.

"Are you done? If so then listen up. You may have lost your father but you still have a grandfather and a mother who care about you. Yet Gatou will kill them if you just sit around and whine like a baby. The only power Gatou has is what everyone gives him by being afraid of him. So what if he has an army of thugs on his payroll. Money can't defend Gatou forever and the only reason he's lived as long as he has is because everyone feared him too much to do anything. Even the smallest spark can cause a raging inferno, and your father was one of those sparks but everyone acted like you do now. Like some coward who abandons a comrade instead of being strong and heroic like their inspirational spark. So go ahead and cry like a baby, but don't tell me that I don't know what it's like to suffer. You never killed anyone or had to fake your own death because the village you lived in hated you for just being alive and vented that hatred almost daily in some way or another. Be it a form of mental or physical torture. Compared to me, you had it easy."

The aura of death only lifted after Kaiya left.

"Was what she said true?" Inari asked Kakashi with obvious shock and disbelief on his face, but his eyes had something else in them as well. 'Looks like Kaiya provided quite the wake up call.'

"Unfortunately yes, I know some of it but only Kaiya truly knows everything that the villagers did to her." Kakashi went on to explain a few things about Kaiya's life and how she probably viewed herself in Inari. In the end, Inari left the room to think on these words, but he certainly didn't seem like the way he did before Kaiya's words. Sasuke and Sakura were quiet up until Kakashi asked Sasuke when his Sharingan had awakened. The two and one tomoes had been spinning madly. It was obvious that Sasuke had been thinking of how the village mistreated Kaiya. 'Speaking of whom, it would seem Kaiya went off to train by herself. Better keep everyone here considering her warning in her note. Checking up on her now wouldn't be worth risking her using Rasengan and Sennen Goroshi in combination. Just reading about it seems painful.'

---------

"It would seem they cleared the bridge in preparation for our fight." Zabuza said aloud as he stood atop the now silent and incomplete bridge. The three of them noticed a sign that was left behind asking the workers to stay away under the pretense of keeping them safe from the ninja battle that might occur. It even had a Chibi version of everyone on it. Kaiya, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, Zabuza, Haku, and even a black silhouette Chibi with a question mark in the middle of it and they were all lined up together. Zabuza thought it looked ridiculous while Haku found it funny. The third member was simply fidgeting a little but he's been doing that a while now and Zabuza was starting to wonder why. Gatou already irritated him enough as it is and the crushed radio was proof enough of that.

"That's odd." Haku said as his masked face stared at the Chibi-Kaiya.

"What is it?" Their third member asked. He managed to stop fidgeting for a moment now that his attention was on something else.

"Chibi-Kaiya seems to have rather unusual eyes that Kaiya didn't have when I found her in the forest. The feet also seem to have a total of nine toes, but Kaiya's feet didn't have any toes missing on either foot."

When Zabuza took a careful look, he saw that each eye had a vibrant purple iris and four tomoes inside it as they surrounded the pupil. 'The Sharingan, no this is different. Is it an evolution in the Sharingan's development?' The Chibi also did indeed only have nine toes and it took Zabuza a couple seconds to piece together that clue. 'It appears she wants me to know that she does indeed have the Kyuubi's power. Her message was subtle but still effective and acts as the perfect olive branch since trusting me with such information at this time is to put her life in my hands.' After that Zabuza could be seen standing still with his eyes closed as he thinks.

"I'll consider it, Kaiya, but you better be right about Gatou."

The mask Haku was wearing hid his smile.

---------

With Kaiya unconscious Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke didn't have much choice but to head to the bridge without her. Even though they got the other workers to take the day off, Tazuna still had a few things to do at the bridge. He did question how they were so sure that today was the day when Zabuza would fight them again. The answer was simple though.

"When Kaiya is sure of something it is best to heed her advice."

Besides, her report provided enough clues that Kakashi backed up her theory. If they were wrong then it only meant that the workers got the day off and that Zabuza would attack at another time. Whether or not Gatou would actually be patient enough to wait for that is another story. So in the end, a fight was to be expected.

So it came as no surprise to find mist blanketing the bridge and mizu bunshins slowly appearing around them. Kakashi was the one to speak first.

"I take this means that you won't be considering Kaiya's offer?"

"Don't forget Kakashi, I was hired to do a job. It's not like I can just turn my back on a client."

"I see… Kaiya will be disappointed to hear that. She expected it though. Actually she thought that you might not trust her. Guess sometimes it's good to be wrong."

"Perhaps, but for her sake she better be right about Gatou. For now we have a fight to finish, and it looks like one of your students is trembling in fear."

Though Zabuza might not have seen the smirk on Sasuke's face he did hear his words "I'm trembling with excitement" and almost instantly the mizu bunshins were taken out by Sasuke. Sakura took the time to arm herself with the Raijin Sword and took a solid defensive stance. She was still amazed by how the blade's appearance tended to depend on how one manipulated their chakra into the sword. When Kaiya had Sakura train in how to use the sword, they both watched Sakura form a blade that looked like a katana blade. The color of the blade made Kaiya look at it oddly. 'What the… When Aoi used the thing the blade was yellow, wider, and shorter. Not like a katana and certainly not white with a bright pink tinge.' Kaiya chose to test a theory by wielding it herself and figured out what was up. 'So the blade's shape and color is determined by the wielder.' Kaiya thought when she created a white nodachi blade with a blue tinge and struck through a tree. Traces of similar colored electricity remained for a moment. 'At least the basic element hasn't changed though, but still. Pink?'

"It looks like Haku has a rival in speed and Kimimaro has some one to fight as well. I find it interesting that the girl wields the Raijin Sword."

When the mist cleared enough, Kakashi felt worried for Sakura. She may have the Raijin Sword to protect her and Tazuna, but it won't be easy for her since Sakura's opponent is a Kaguya. The Kaguya were a clan thought to be extinct but apparently one survived and has the kekkei genkai, Shikotsumyaku. This kekkei genkai allows the user the ability to manipulate the bones in the user's body, thus Kimimaro could make just about any bone in his body into a weapon. Fortunately, Sakura had been well trained and she is using the Raijin Sword that Kaiya entrusted her with for this mission, and Kimimaro seemed distracted by something…

"Sakura, protect the bridge builder but keep on the defensive. Going on the offensive with him would be a bad idea. I'll handle Zabuza and Sasuke can deal with Haku. This fight is going to depend more on how long we can hold out. Funny thing though, I'm actually hoping Gatou shows up as soon as possible, yet I'd prefer Kaiya being here before him. Honestly, that girl…"

Everyone but Tazuna was soon engaged in a fight. Unaware of what Gatou was doing.

---------

'That's odd. I know I left all my alarm clocks back home and they usually beep, ding, or something other than some one screaming. It almost sounds like Tsunami screaming. Wait a minute…'

Instantly Kaiya's eyes opened and she swiftly moved to see what was going on. 'Okay, apparently two thugs pretending to be samurai are kidnapping Tsunami and Inari is trying to stop them. Nice to see he took my words to heart. Now I just need to keep him and his mother from getting killed.' Kaiya quickly went into action. 'Those thugs won't know what hit them.'

---------

Charging at two armed thugs might not have been the smartest thing in the world to do but Inari had had enough. He wasn't going to let Gatou take anything more from him. If the thugs working for Gatou wanted his mom then they'd have to go through him first. Inari didn't expect to win or survive but he at least had to try. The swords were the last thing he saw…

…At least until he saw himself appear to be holding the thugs' swords with his bare hands that were glowing blue. He was even more surprised to see Kaiza appear behind the two thugs who only just realized that they were holding a log instead of Tsunami. The fact that they were seeing a guy they killed a long time ago made them fall on their butts and freeze them long enough for Kaiza to have both of their heads impact, despite their differences in height, and knock them out. Inari and Kaiza smiled and stood proud as if enjoying a moment worthy of pride. When they went poof, Inari was snapped back to reality and noticed that his mom was right next to him. Tsunami was unconscious but alive and alright. He also noticed Kaiya near him and she was looking at him with approval in her eyes.

"Nice to see you've finally woken up Inari. Sorry about taking so long but heroes tend to show up at the last second. Anyway I'm proud of you Inari. Even though you were running head long into danger you did the right thing and fought for the sake of protecting your mom. I can see now that you'll become a great man when you grow up. Here." Kaiya tossed Inari some rope. "See about tying up the trash and hold down the fort okay?"

" Right!" Inari said as he tried to hold back the tears in his eyes. Kaiya softly smiled at this.

"Just so you know its okay to cry when you're happy. I better get going. If Gatou's pulling something like this then I can bet he'll show up at the bridge soon. Later!"

---------

Upon arrival Kaiya was treated to an odd sight. Zabuza may have taken her advice and wore a shirt but it seemed as if the third accomplice was only wearing half of his shirt. He appeared to be occasionally trying to strike Sakura but the Raijin Sword kept him at bay. The fact that he had a sword that was made of bone did not escape her notice. Zabuza and Kakashi appeared to be just standing around and observing the other fights. Despite the distance, Kaiya was able to see their mouths moving and it looked like they really were fighting, but with an occasional exchange of words. Finally, Kaiya could see what looked like a dome of floating mirrors surrounding Sasuke. They appeared to be made of ice. 'Guess I was right about the kekkei genkai. Still, I wonder about Zabuza's decision in regards to my offer. I'll just have to find that out after I make an interesting appearance. You'd think the jounin would notice the large chakra source coming. Oh well, I guess it's up to me to stop the fighting.' If anyone could see Kaiya at the moment, then they would have seen an odd mix of expressions that were probably caused by her plan as she waited to strike.

---------

It didn't take long for an opportunity to reveal itself. Sakura's irritation and concern for Sasuke caused her to throw a kunai. Whether it was for Sasuke to grab or to hit an ice mirror was a moot point when Haku grabbed it. His upper body was exposed for too long and a shuriken capitalized on the mistake. It was a little odd hearing what sounded like the shuriken shouting. "Please accept my apologies!" This happened right before impacting with Haku's mask, thus leaving a scar on the white porcelain and knocking Haku out of the mirror. After Haku's landing, everyone stood still and watched as a smoke bomb went off; hiding what was believed to be Kaiya trying to make a dramatic entrance.

When the smoke cleared, it was not Kaiya that they saw. In fact it was a horror that freaked them out but for some reason they were not able to look away from it either. It was the sight of Maito Gai and Rock Lee hugging and crying while saying "Lee!" and "Gai-sensei" respectively. The mystery background was there as well. This lasted for maybe a couple minutes but it felt more like an eternity. Zabuza, Haku, and Kimimaro never noticed a figure behind each of them that knocked them unconscious. The one responsible for both actions was none other than Kaiya who was looking rather embarrassed for resorting to using such a thing.

"Uh… Kaiya, while I'm grateful for how you took them down but don't you think that was a bit much?"

"Sorry Kakashi-sensei, but it seemed like the only way to handle things since I didn't know whether or not Zabuza accepted my offer."

Kakashi's uncovered eye did his patented eye smile. "Well if that's all you're worried about then you should know that Zabuza was considering it but said that he was hired to do a job. It all depends on whether Gatou betrays him."

"That's good." Kaiya said in a relieved tone.

"What did you do Kaiya?" Sakura asked since a kage bunshin mercifully covered the eyes of Tazuna, Sasuke, and Sakura as they were moved to safety.

"It's probably better if we don't ask. Just hearing it sounded disturbing." Sasuke commented while suppressing a shiver.

"A-Alright, but still it sounded like Kakashi-sensei had encountered it before."

'You don't know the half of it.' Kaiya and Kakashi thought in unison.

"You'll probably encounter it sometime when we're back in Konoha. For now it would be better if we waited for the large mass of chakra." This information caused Kakashi to become aware of what was approaching.

"You're right. There's a large group approaching from the water, but how did you know?"

"I didn't rush in without scanning the area first and I'm sure that if you hadn't been focused on the fights you would have noticed them too. So what do we do Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hm… I might have an idea… Alright listen up, here's what we'll do."

---------

Gatou wasn't a happy businessman. First, communications were cut off between him and Zabuza. Second, was that he could see that Tazuna was still alive. Third, Zabuza looked like crap and clearly unable to fight if the kunai in his arms were any indication. Fourth, his accomplices looked like they were killed. Kimimaro appeared to have died by a girl with pink hair and a weird weapon. Haku was taken down by a boy with an unusual hairstyle. This happened because they were distracted by the state of Zabuza. What really upset him was the boy with the cloak. The boy looked like he was trying to make a mockery of Gatou by imitating him. He doesn't act like that and he doesn't even own a white cane. Oh well, they'll all die when the mercenaries attack. A few words can be exchanged before they die and it'd probably be only fair for Zabuza to know why. He did hire the man so why not offer him a little professional courtesy.

"Zabuza, you don't look so good. In fact, I think how you look right now reflects your failure to kill the old man. Too bad really, but either way these mercenaries will no doubt do the job of killing you and the old man as well as the ninja protecting him. All it cost was the same price that I would have paid you had I not planned to betray you from the start that is. After all, hiring ninja is expensive and a village wouldn't take kindly to my refusal to pay by killing their buddies, but missing-nins are cheap and easy to use so long as you kill them after the job is done. As a bonus, I get to collect the bounty on your head. It's a win-win situation for me, Zabuza. Free service and more money are certainly good for business. It's too bad that both of your boys are dead." Gatou had said most of this as he slowly made his way to Haku. He poked Haku's prone body with his cane. "This one broke my arm and I would have liked to pay him back for that." Gatou had attempted to kick Haku's body only to find his foot blocked.

"Don't you dare, or I will kill you where you stand." Kaiya growled, completely ignoring Gatou's lame excuses for how she shouldn't kill him. Unfortunately for him, she caught the last bit of what he said and that really upset her. 'Mistaking me for a boy is something that may upset me. However, suggesting that Sakura and I do that for him and his men is unforgivable.' Kaiya punched Gatou back to the mercenaries. 'Must be their first time seeing a dwarf fly.'

They all watched with shocked amazement as every person they saw suddenly poof only to reappear from what seemed like thin air. Zabuza looked a lot healthier than before. Kimimaro and Haku were alive. The others looked the same as before only in slightly better condition. The only thing different was that the pink haired girl didn't have her weird sword anymore. They could see and feel that the ninja were very upset with Gatou and them.

"Hey Zabuza, how do you feel about my offer now that your client decided to betray you?"

"Hm… Sure kid, I didn't appreciate what you did earlier but at least you were right about Gatou. However, at the moment we have some rather unfinished business to attend to."

"Yeah, it certainly seems that way. So how do you wish to handle it?" Kaiya asked as she held the Raijin Sword in her right hand with her arm extended out to her side and the sword parallel to the ground. It's blade slowly changing to a dark and crimson version of Zabuza's blade, only not as wide and without any holes. The blade's appearance was mostly because of Kaiya but also because of her unconsciously drawing on Akahana's chakra. This caused the Raijin Sword to appear rather demonic. The occasional arcs of crimson lighting and crimson chakra that leaked from Kaiya to form a demonic looking fox head over her left shoulder only reinforced the hellish image.

"Kakashi?" Zabuza looked at the one-eyed jounin as if to ask whether he wanted one of his students to be responsible for the slaughter that would occur if something isn't done. He didn't need to ask Haku or Kimimaro since they looked ready to fight and aid Kaiya. They knew that it would be pointless to try and stop her even though Haku seemed to desire some way of keeping Kaiya's hands from being soaked with blood. To Zabuza, the genins seemed like they never took a life except for the girl who was scaring the mercenaries enough that some slipped away. 'She may not enjoy killing but she certainly has a way with scaring people senseless. Gatou might have a heart attack if she keeps this up. Oops…'

"Um… Kakashi-sensei, I think Gatou is having a heart attack." Sakura said with an air of apathy. She didn't like the idea of killing some one, but Kaiya made her painfully aware that there will come a time when it's necessary for the sake of protecting something or some one. Anyway, Sakura had seen the state that everyone was forced to live with and what Gatou said earlier only cemented her opinion of him. Sakura couldn't care less about Gatou's ironic fate. He may have had a lot of money but used it to protect himself with mercenaries. None of them probably knew anything beyond basic medical skills, so they wouldn't know what to do about their boss having a heart attack that was killing him. Then again, they were too afraid to do anything.

It didn't take long for Gatou's small body to stop moving and it was obvious that he wasn't breathing. The mercenaries were clearly afraid of Kaiya and the other ninjas. After all, who wouldn't be afraid when a mere kid killed their boss by just looking at him? The fact that there were two more kids, two jounin where one had a big sword, and two more ninja where one was wearing a mask that improved the intimidation factor; well, needless to say they were trembling in fear and not excitement.

A crossbow bolt suddenly landed in front of them and it almost hit the groin of their dead boss. This decided things and seeing who the bolt belonged to as well as the people with him only made their choice even clearer. They ran…

"Well that was anti-climatic." Kaiya said had she put away the Raijin Sword and joined the others in their celebration. The fact that Kaiya was one to cause Gatou to have a heart attack by just looking at him was thankfully left out. Everyone reacted to the morbid irony in their own way, but some found it rather amusing. They were cautious around the missing-nins but soon developed grudging respect for the fact that the missing-nins were just doing what they were hired to do. They didn't exactly like the man either and provided assistance where they could. Haku helped with healing, Zabuza helped with the bridge, and Kimimaro acted as a guide to, from, and throughout Gatou's hideout. Kaiya made a wise crack about Kimimaro being a great tour guide only to dodge a punch from Sakura, but Kaiya didn't miss the smirk that Kimimaro had on his face because of her attempt at humor and Sakura's idea of punishment.

Over time they learned the story of how Haku met Zabuza and how the two of them met Kimimaro and convinced him to join them. All it took was a small act of kindness and Kimimaro went with them. Haku and Kimimaro had formed a bond of friendship were they became like brothers. It was rather fortunate for Kimimaro that he joined them since they managed to stumble onto Tsunade and her apprentice Shizune. Through an odd chain of events, Tsunade discovered an illness in Kimimaro and was able to care of it. This saved Kimimaro from a disease that could have killed him later if left untreated for much longer. They did their best to pay her back while they could before she had to leave. It did take a little convincing to keep Zabuza from trying to train Kimimaro for a while but it worked out well in the end.

---------

Kaiya was amazed by how quickly the bridge was built. Time seemed to literally fly by as everyone worked. The people of Nami no Kuni were soon watching the ninja depart for Konoha after a few words were exchanged. Kaiya got a good laugh out of what they decided to name it as well as the four statues they made to place on the left and right sides of both ends of the bridge. Thankfully the members of squad seven got Zabuza, Kimimaro, and Haku to adjust their wardrobe so as to be difficult to identify.

Zabuza had his sword sealed into a scroll and wore some loose fitting civilian clothes with a hat on top of his head that shaded his face. Kaiya had to add a touch of make up to cover the red on Kimimaro's face. She also gave him a dark gray t-shirt and a cloak like hers. The t-shirt was a little small but Sakura wasn't complaining and the cloak kind of made Kimimaro seem like an older brother or father of Kaiya. That certainly made things interesting when Kakashi pointed it out. Good thing he didn't say anything when the question of who might the mother be.

Haku may be a boy who could pass himself off as a girl rather well, but even he had limits. Apparently they didn't realize he could use the outfit Kaiya saw him wear when he had gathered herbs. It was certainly interesting getting clothes for him and a little funny when Tsunami and Sakura realized their mistake of forgetting his real gender. They were blushing heavily when Sakura said for Haku to prove he was a boy. It left them wondering one thing. 'How was he able to hide that?' Kaiya wasn't around at the time to see since she went to help with the bridge before they started picking out clothes for Haku until they realized he already had one that he could use.

Although, Kakashi did notice Kaiya had been blushing a little bit as she left. He and Zabuza shared knowing looks of what was probably going on. Then again, they both read the same book and were in fact reading their copies the whole time. However, Zabuza didn't seem to be as bad as Kakashi since he at least read the book indoors despite the fact that he was reading it in front of others. It might have been a habit developed by the fact that if he was attacked then the book might get damaged in an ambush. If he read indoors then the chances of his book getting damaged decreased significantly. Kaiya just called them open pervert and semi-open pervert. Haku and Kimimaro had a good laugh at that. Kakashi and Zabuza just wisely kept their mouths shut as they watched Kaiya, Kimimaro, and Haku look like a family.

The thoughts that came up as a result of the odd scene made them quickly return to reading their books. Although, before leaving they did notice that they had an extra copy. It suddenly disappeared after Kaiya had distracted them by mentioning that dinner was being served. In its place was a note that said, "Reading a mature book in private is one thing and so long as you don't get caught it is viewed as acceptable behavior, but to read it openly in front of some one no matter where you are is unacceptable behavior. When I call you open or semi-open perverts I am criticizing your choices of how you read and not what you read. There is, after all, a pervert in just about everyone. Unless you're a prude…"

This caused them to look at Kaiya in a new light. Too bad on how it didn't change their reading behaviors much. At the very least, Kakashi didn't read his book while they left the Great Naruto Bridge. Where they saw the two statues that appeared to be how Naruto might have looked if he was older as well as wearing the kage robes. There might not have been a symbol on top of the hat to indicate which kage Naruto was but it might be better that way. Konoha may have been the home of Naruto Uzumaki but the villagers certainly didn't make him feel welcome or at home. Regardless, it was heartwarming to see the faces smiling even though their eyes appeared closed and establishing a foxy image. Foxes may have been considered taboo in Konoha but around here they might actually be revered thanks to how the statues look. Kaiya had been given some curious looks when Zabuza, Kimimaro, and Haku learned of what the bridge would be called. The statues only made their curiosity worse.

Kaiya had to tell them most of the story since it was mainly an S-rank secret that only she was allowed to tell others that she trusted to keep the secret. Their opinion of Konoha may have diminished but they still went to Konoha with squad seven. It didn't take long to reach the gate were Kaiya's opinion of the guards took a drop. 'What kind of guard exposes himself like that? Is he trying to get himself killed?'

"Halt identify yourselves and state your business here."

Kakashi had to raise his uncovered eyebrow at this. 'He must be new.'

"I'm…" Kakashi started to respond but Kaiya's action stopped any further words. She quickly appeared in front of the guard and used her finger to flick his forehead causing him to fly backwards and made the other guards think Tsunade had returned. At least, they thought that for a moment until one of the more experienced guards dropped down and spoke.

"My apologies Namikaze-sama, he was a new guard and clearly needed to be better appraised of who is to be allowed through. However, I need to know who your three guests are before they can be allowed entry."

"These three are interested in becoming leaf shinobi. They were missing-nin but Kaiya convinced them to considering joining." Kakashi explained as Kaiya fumed.

"That old monkey!" Kaiya shouted before storming her way to the Hokage Tower with everyone in tow after the guard let them through. If they had looked back then they would have seen the smirk on his face. 'Looks like I won the bet.'

---------

Sarutobi wasn't happy. First, he had a large amount of paperwork that his kage bunshin were dealing with but it looked like they might be awhile. Second, a chuunin that had guard duty at one of the gates suddenly crashed into the Hokage Tower. He was alive and conscious but he kept saying incoherent things. It was only when he heard what sounded like Kaiya shouting about an old monkey did he figure things out. Now he had a very irate genin, who might as well be a chuunin or jounin, on his hands and he had to prepare something that could calm her down. It was a good thing that genin were not allowed to just shunshin into the Hokage's office and that a chuunin was able to inform him about the three people who were with squad seven. 'It's not much but at least it'll help.' This thought occurred just before the door slammed open.

"Just what have you been telling people while I was gone Lord Hokage?" Kaiya shouted clearly upset.

"Now calm down Kaiya, if you render me unable to do paperwork then it will be very difficult for our three guests to become leaf shinobi. Wouldn't you agree?"

Kaiya cooled quickly. "That's playing dirty you know."

Sarutobi lightly chuckled. "Perhaps, but I didn't get this old without having to do so on occasions. Now then I trust you've calmed yourself enough to tell me just what happened?"

"Uh… Lord Hokage, it might be best if we have a private debriefing."

The old man frowned at this since it meant that the mission's difficult was higher than a mere C-rank. It wasn't much of a surprise since it does happen on occasions. Still, rarely do missions upgrade beyond the next rank above the original mission rank. Sarutobi wasn't sure what to think when he found out the details and that the C-rank he gave them became an A-rank mission. He was thankful that they came out of it alright. The Hokage looked to the missing-nin and considered things carefully. 'More paperwork, potential risks, possible boost of prestige, and Kaiya's happiness. The things I do for that girl. It's a good thing that only certain people were informed of Kaiya's status as the daughter of Minato Namikaze. Their loyalty to Minato will prove beneficial in keeping the council in the dark for a little while longer. Those old farts are not the only ones who can manipulate how things turn out.'

"I'll allow them to become leaf shinobi but they will be on a probationary period for the sake of the village's safety. No doubt Zabuza is jounin material but there will need to be a test to determine the skill level of Kimimaro and Haku. This will need to be done soon considering the timing. Also, since Haku has expressed an interest in becoming a medical ninja, I'll set things up for him to receive medical training. However, this will happen after the probationary period. I'm sorry but as Hokage I must take these precautions for the sake of protecting everyone in the village."

"Hmph, you don't need to make excuses for being careful. We actually expected it considering our previous line of work. The only question I have for you is where we will be staying?" Zabuza asked.

"You guys can stay at my place. The Namikaze compound is a big place and has plenty of rooms. So it would be a simply matter of claiming a room and getting a few furnishings for each one. On the plus side, you don't have to pay rent like you would if you stayed at a hotel."

"It certainly is a generous offer." Haku's words must have been misinterpreted because afterwards Kaiya used the puppy eyes no jutsu on the three soon to be leaf ninja.

"Fine but stop doing that it's embarrassing." Zabuza growled.

"Anymore embarrassing than what I did on the bridge?"

"Yes I am rather curious as to what happened. You were all rather vague about what Kaiya did to cause you to be captured." Sarutobi asked with obvious curiosity.

"Ah, Lord Hokage, it might be best not asking for a demonstration of Kaiya's imitation of two members of team nine." Kakashi's words caused Sakura and Sasuke to give him curious looks while Kaiya looked embarrassed. The Hokage was shocked that some one thought to use such a thing as an attack and it actually worked. The others were amazed that what happened is actually a common occurrence in Konoha. They almost regretted coming here.

Well, Haku didn't seem to regret it as Kaiya happily guided them to their new home as she called it. In a way the idea of a home felt nice to the three of them. They may be ninja but they were still human. Kaiya did well to point that out back at the bridge. Seeing their reactions was interesting but it was agreed to never speak of how Zabuza was bawling like a baby. Well, a rather mature baby but still a baby. When it was all over, Kaiya had mentioned that she disliked the idea that ninja were just some one's tools or weapons. Instead she'd follow a path without regrets and do her best to change the way of the shinobi for the better no matter what. Kaiya gained respect from each of them that day and it slowly grew over time as they learned about her. Now if only they could figure out why there's a square rock following them…

---------

The various Jounin through the village watched as a specific bird signaled them to meet at the Hokage's office. It was time for the Chuunin Exams.

It didn't take long for them to show. To them it appeared as if Kakashi showed up early. Many thought this was a genjutsu and quickly tried to dispel it. After awhile the Hokage and Kakashi were really getting irritated. Kurenai's reaction was really funny when she tried to dispel a genjutsu that didn't exist. She actually thought Gai had attempted to do a prank. Regardless, they were able to get things under way.

The Hokage had done his speech and asked the Jounin if there were any who felt that their teams should be nominated. Most if not all were surprised when the jounin-senseis for the rookie nine had nominated their students. Asuma Sarutobi simply stated that he'd take responsibility. Kurenai Yuuhi explained a bit about her students and stated that she felt they were ready. Kakashi was probably the biggest surprise since it was amazing enough that he passed a team, let alone one that was an inverse of the standard setup. Kakashi's explanation was that he believed in his team. Sasuke and Sakura were well trained and as well balanced as they could get. Kaiya was full of surprises and could be rather unorthodox but still remain effective. He even told them a vague and abridged version of how she took down three jounin level missing-nins. One poor jounin was curious and asked what she did to distract them for so long.

"She simply showed them a certain teacher's love for his student."

It would almost be funny to see a room full of Jounin shiver at the mental image, at least were it not for the fact that a serious meeting was going on, one where Kakashi was the main jounin of the three to be questioned by Iruka. The Hokage had to calm things down and tell Iruka that if he felt they weren't ready then he could test them beforehand. Should they pass then their nominations will go through and the rookie nine will take part in the Chuunin Exams.

---------

That rock had been following them for a while now. From what they sensed, it didn't seem like a threat. Haku could see Kaiya's eyebrow twitch about every ten seconds and this lasted until they came across Sasuke. Sakura had gone to the hospital to restock her supplies. She had been certified as a medical ninja before the mission to Nami no Kuni. It did kind of result in having two certified medical ninja on the same team but nobody seemed to raise a fuss about it. In fact, anyone who knew figured that it would only help keep their precious Uchiha from getting killed by a paper cut. This would be odd since he didn't have hemophilia. Speaking of whom…

"You do realize that there's a square rock following you?" This caused the rock to freeze.

"Yeah, it's Konohamaru and two others I haven't met before."

Konohamaru's chuckling could be heard from under the box. "That's just what I'd expect from my greatest rival." 'I really hope he's not taking lessons from Gai and starts calling me his eternal rival among other things.' The box exploded and three figures could be seen coughing as the smoke that enshrouded them slowly dissipated. "I think we used too much gunpowder."

"I'll say, but Konohamaru, would you care to introduce your two friends."

"Right, this is Moegi and this is Udon, together we make up… The Konohamaru Corps!" The three kids stated proudly in unique poses. 'At least they're not spouting stuff about the power of youth. Gai and his clone, Lee, are enough as it is.' Kaiya saw that they were wearing goggles like hers on their foreheads and figured they were doing something similar to what Lee did after Gai acknowledged him.

"I see, and I take it that you three want to play ninja now, huh?"

"Play ninja?" Sasuke asked in obvious disbelief, though Kaiya ignored it for the most part.

"Hey boss, do you know him, and who are the three with you?"

"Well duck butt is Sasuke my teammate." She ignored his eyebrow twitching madly. "The others are some friends we made and brought with us to the village. That's Zabuza, Kimimaro, and Haku." Kaiya said as she pointed to the appropriate person. "I'm escorting them to my home so they can stay there. Care to join me on this escort mission, Konohamaru?"

"Sure boss!"

With that, Konohamaru and his friends accompanied the group which Sasuke simply decided to follow in his own way. Haku had asked about Kaiya "playing ninja" with Konohamaru and his friends. To which Kaiya responded with. "This way they could develop their ninja skills early while having fun. It may be a somewhat sugarcoated version of real ninja life but they shouldn't have to deal with certain bitter aspects until their older. Well, unless something happens that is…" Kaiya didn't need to explain what that something might be. Coincidentally, after Kaiya's words Konohamaru bumped into some one into some one as he went around a corner. He had decided to speed up a little, but unfortunately, he forgot that it's never wise to get distracted.

"What's your problem?" Konohamaru soon found himself held up by the blue scarf on his neck. "Care to explain yourself, brat?"

"Kankuro stop it, or you'll regret it later."

"Relax Temari, he isn't here yet and I just need to teach this kid a lesson."

Kaiya peaked around the corner and saw the Suna headband on the ninja named Kankuro that looked like he was imitating a cat that could walk on two legs. She could plainly see that he was carrying a puppet with him. It was about as obvious as the giant fan that was behind the back of the kunoichi who practically shouted to the world that she was a wind user. This Temari seemed to be good, knew it, was proud of it, and made sure everyone knew of her skill despite how they might feel. 'It's odd that there are only two of them though… Never mind, I found him.'

"Hey, put him down." Kaiya said seriously as she walked into view while subtly preparing for Kankuro's failure to comply. Zabuza, Haku, and Kimimaro were still hidden on the other side of the corner so Kankuro simply thought that she was alone and stuck babysitting the three kids.

"Or what?" Kankuro asked in a cocky manner as he looked Kaiya over. 'She's obviously just some weakling leaf genin if they have her babysitting.'

"Well, I could take her fan and beat your puppet with it until one of them breaks." Both sand ninja flinched and their attention was drawn to their weapons of choice for a second. It was enough time for Kaiya to act. Kankuro and Temari saw or rather didn't see Kaiya where she was originally standing. Instead she was behind Kankuro with one hand wrapped around the wrist that was connected to the hand holding Konohamaru up. Her other hand had a kunai at his neck. Kaiya's next words were with a hint of frost. "I could also kill you but I don't think your friend in the tree would be happy about being unable to take part in the Chuunin exams since a team needs all three members alive and well." Increasing her grip on Kankuro's wrist caused him to let go of Konohamaru, who ran to the safety of his friends that were near the three jounin level ninja who decided to reveal themselves while Kaiya had the undivided attention of the sand ninja.

Sasuke had been wondering who Kaiya was talking about until he saw a sand shunshin being performed as Kaiya released Kankuro. He noted the unusual appearance of the sand ninja. Eyes that made him look like a panda and the tattoo "love" above the left eye. The gourd on his back was odd. Sasuke wondered if it contained his main weapon since the other two had theirs on their backs in a similar fashion. His watched as Kaiya raised an eyebrow at the boy.

"Kankuro you're a disgrace to our village."

"G-Gaara. But they…"

"Shut up or I'll kill you." Kaiya raised an eyebrow at Gaara's threat and let it lower when he faced her. "I apologize for my teammate, he is an idiot." 'He's certainly a stoic person.'

Kaiya had subtly used her wind affinity to create a small breeze that circled them and allowed her nose to notice their scents. "It seems that the three of you are siblings. Does one of you happen to have a pet snake?" The sand ninja flinched but the one with the gourd hid his better.

"What are you talking about, and how did you know we're siblings?" Kankuro asked as he was rubbing his wrist.

"Kankuro, she caused the breeze we just felt and was able to tell by our smell, but what I want to know is what made you think any of us has a pet snake."

"There's a snake scent on each of you. It was either from a pet snake or being around some one who has one long enough for the scent to be stuck on you. Anyways, I was simply curious about the Kazekage's children and the company they keep. After all, snakes have a tendency for shedding their skin in more ways than one, and they can even prove to be rather poisonous so be careful not to get bitten by one. Otherwise…" Kaiya tiled her head and smiled. "You'll die."

Kaiya's words caused Kankuro and Temari to shiver at Kaiya's carefree attitude while talking about their potential deaths. Gaara seemed confused, excited, and stoic as usual until he blinked. Next thing he knew, a pair of arms had encircled his neck and Kaiya was whispering into his ear. "Oh and just so you know my nine outranks your one. I hope that you'll consider talking with the Hokage about reinforcing your seal so that Shukaku will shut up and let you sleep in peace. Kyuubi says he sounds funkier than usual." Kaiya backed up and placed her hand on his head to ruffle his hair. "You know you look kind of cute and I got to admit you have interesting armor. See you later Gaara." Kaiya simply walked off leaving behind three scared sand ninja. "Oh one more thing, please inform your jounin-sensei exactly what I told you. He might find the info useful in preventing an embarrassment of Sunagakure."

With that, Kaiya rejoined the former mist ninja and Konohamaru corps and noticed a slightly jealous looking Haku. Kaiya looked apologetic but kept quiet as the sand ninja departed. "So Sasuke what do you think of the potential competition we might have at the Chuunin Exams?"

Sasuke used his fire shunshin to appear behind Kaiya, "Do you think Kakashi-sensei would nominate us?"

"Probably, but it is his decision as it is ours on whether or not we wish to take it. Regardless, it might be nice to prove how strong we've become. Isn't that right, Sakura?"

Sakura appeared in a swirl of water. "Yeah, I'm actually looking forward to proving to everyone that I'm an actual kunoichi and not some fan-girl anymore."

Kaiya simply responded with a smile.


	8. Chapter 7

Forgiveness of a Kitsune

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did then there would have been serious changes made to the story.**

Chapter 7

It didn't take long to get Zabuza, Kimimaro, and Haku settled in. In no time at all Zabuza, Kimimaro, and Haku had their own rooms with the desired furnishings for each one. Kaiya noticed an odd feeling when she saw their expressions of how they each realized that they had a home and their own room that was chosen by them. Haku made her feel something else as well but she only asked Akahana about it and all she got in response was what felt like a smile. Regardless, Kaiya at least knew one thing. It felt nice…

---------

Suddenly being attacked by a Rain ninja is not fun. Finding out that said ninja kidnapped a kid is definitely not fun. So it is understandable that an irate Kaiya would be strongly tempted to go overboard. The moment she got Moegi safely out of harms way after distracting the Rain ninja was when things got a bit out of control.

Kaiya summoned a kage bunshin that transformed into a shuriken that was similar to the ones that Mizuki used that night. The Rain ninja threatened to harm the child which only lasted until Kaiya asked him what child. Kaiya then threw the shuriken at the Rain ninja the moment he realized his hostage was gone, capitalizing on his distracted state. Then Kaiya went through a number of hand seals that caused the one shuriken to become many. Large shurikens decorated the surroundings and Kaiya had made sure that the kids were safely away when she decided to have them all go boom. The fireworks were spectacular. Kaiya did have to explain why she just blew up a decent sized amount of land, thus leaving a nicely sized crater for a lake.

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Kakashi was enjoying the peace and quiet of the night as he read his favorite book. He stopped reading when a Rain ninja showed up, only to disappear in a poof of smoke and reveal Iruka.

"So how did they do?"

"They all passed but…"

"But what…?"

"One of your students almost killed me!"

"Really, which one did that?"

"Kaiya did, I almost didn't make it out alive."

"I see… It must be that time of the month for Kaiya. So I shouldn't be surprised she'd go overboard. I guess the loud boom that I heard earlier was Kaiya's fault. What did you do to upset her?"

"I kidnapped one of the kids that she was with."

"Ah, that would explain it then. Kaiya's maternal instincts must have kicked in when you did that. Add in the other details like your choice of allegiance for your disguise and you'll have a very angry kunoichi who wouldn't care if you were the Hokage."

"No kidding. I saw her use Kage Bunshin, Henge, Shuriken Kage Bunshin, and Bunshin Daibakuha. I was lucky to perform a quick kawarimi and get out of there before the explosions."

"Well, at least now you know not to mess with kids that Kaiya cares about. Just imagine what she'd do if you did that to one of her own children. Regardless, I'd be more worried about her feelings to a certain boy that she brought back with us."

"You mean Kimimaro Kaguya?"

"Actually I meant Haku."

"Huh, but I thought Haku was a girl."

"I did too, until it was confirmed otherwise. Either way, Kaiya certainly seems interested in Haku. I just hope things turn out okay for Kaiya's sake."

"Yeah, so what's Haku like anyway?"

"Planning to play the role of the protective father?"

Iruka and Kakashi shared a laugh before Kakashi started to explain what he knew.

---------

Sasuke and Sakura found Kaiya waiting for them at the entrance of the building where they needed to turn in the forms that Kakashi gave them. They still wondered why it took him so long since it seemed as if he waited until the last minute. Well, actually he gave them the forms yesterday. It was funny seeing his reaction to what they decided to do while they waited for him to arrive late. Kakashi probably expected them to be training or reading a book as usual.

Instead they were playing a game of poker and were using their arsenal as poker chips. They did limit it to just using kunai, shuriken, and senbon. It wasn't clear who was more relieved that they weren't betting actual money. Kakashi or Sasuke and Sakura since Kaiya seemed to be blessed with great luck. Kakashi did make a wise crack about how at least they weren't playing the more mature version. Sakura scolded him but Kaiya seemed to have been daydreaming of something along those lines and started blushing. Good thing Sasuke brought her attention back to the here and now before something happened. Having to explain what she was daydreaming about would have been embarrassing.

Unfortunately, the person who is in charge of embarrassing Kaiya felt like making up for the missed opportunity.

"Kaiya, are you alright? You look a little red today. You're not running a fever are you?" Sakura asked as she placed her hand on Kaiya's face to check.

"No, I'm fine. I just forgot something when I woke up this morning."

"You actually forgot something?" Sasuke looked at Kaiya with his Sharingan for a moment and relaxed when he saw she was the real thing. "So what was it that caused you to forget something, Kaiya?"

Sakura visibly relaxed and waited for Kaiya's answer. "Some Rain ninja showed up and kidnapped Moegi. I got her back unharmed. I kind of went overboard when I attacked him but he got away unharmed as well."

Sasuke and Sakura stiffened at Kaiya's story. They both had encounters with a Rain ninja last night and from each of their descriptions it sounded like the same ninja. The odd part was his skills were at least chuunin but he didn't seem to do much to either of them. It was a mystery that they'd have to save for later. Still, when they asked what she forgot, Kaiya simply answered with. "I forgot that I'm no longer living alone." Sasuke was confused. "So which one did you walk in on?" Sakura's question cleared up Sasuke's confusion and reminded Kaiya of what she saw. Her body resembled a tomato rather quickly and Sakura smirked. "Was it Haku?" Seeing their usually cool teammate/sensei/ team leader imitate Hinata was rather priceless, but they had an exam to take and so Sasuke decided to cut things short. "Isn't Haku a girl?" Kaiya instantly cooled at the insult aimed at Haku. "I shouldn't be surprised since you did grope Sakura's butt during Kakashi's test." Embarrassing Sakura at the same time was just a bonus, yet Kaiya looked like she was pondering something as they made their way to the stairs.

---------

"Well this is awkward." Kaiya said as the three of them saw an unusual sight. There was a crowd of genin trying to get past two genin guarding the door to a storage room.

"Yeah, we're still on the second floor and the numbers on the door's sign are shaking a little."

"Those two aren't genin are they Kaiya?" Sasuke asked after deactivating his Sharingan. They were still far enough away for no one to notice them yet.

"No they're not. Those two chuunin are Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki. Their presence here is probably to discourage the genin and thin out the crop a little."

"If they can be fooled this easily then they don't really deserve to take the exam. I still don't get the crop reference though." Sakura said with a confused but curious look.

"It's sort of a habit I picked up from Ibiki Morino. Basically, the academy students are like seeds that get planted into a school or pots of soil to learn about being a ninja. There are certain conditions that determine how fertile the soil is but the watering and sunshine is mostly determined by what they are taught as well as how they are taught. Those who become genin are moved from their pots and transferred to a field where a farmer or jounin-sensei takes care of them. How the plants or genin turn out depends on their caretaker and the environment's conditions. The Chuunin exam is like a harvesting of those plants. They are either cultivated, left alone as they are, or they die. The exams for Jounin are probably a bit like taking the cultivated plants to a processing plant where they are either used, left alone until they ripen, or get thrown out into the trash. Essentially that's an organic version of the ninja's growth. It doesn't seem as bad as the reference to how we are mere tools, weapons, or toy soldiers of some one."

"It's rather sad on how we're not viewed as actual people." Sakura sounded rather depressed.

"Cheer up. We'll become strong ninja someday and prove to everyone that we can be people instead of just some thing to be used and thrown away."

"For now, we need to decide on a course of action. Those Chuunin have the right idea in thinning out the weaklings but they're still bullying everyone."

"Yeah, and I think I have an idea." Kaiya sadistically smirking is never a good sign.

---------

Kotetsu and Izumo certainly made a nice speech about the difficult of the Chuunin exams. It made them seem like genin who knew what they were talking about and were trying to do everyone a favor. Still, they were bullying genin and punishment was warranted. Kaiya let Sasuke have the honors of taking the blame for what happened next as well as appear to be the team's leader.

"Nice speech, but you do realize you're just guarding a restroom on the second floor, right?"

A few murmurs of people who didn't look up yet went through the crowd. Obviously they didn't see Kaiya's genjutsu. This prompted Sakura to play her part. "If you aren't able to be aware of your surroundings and notice these things before it's too late then you really will die in these exams as well as missions that chuunin normally get." She said it with the same air of apathy she used watching Gatou die. Sakura learned to imitate it to a convincing level thanks to Kaiya's help. She was able to improve the intimidation factor with her headband styled like Ibiki's headband style.

Sakura's hairstyle increased the effect by how Kaiya had braided the hair down her back into a pink whip with a kunai secured to the end of it. The kunai was lightly hidden and thanks to a little training exercise, Sakura was able to make her hair act like a third arm that permanently had a weapon attached. She was amazed that Kaiya had a jutsu to make her hair longer as well. Cleaning all of it would be a pain but at least the range of her weapon's reach was increased. They did stop the tip from reaching the floor even with Sakura tilting her head back fully while standing straight. Kaiya did make sure that the newly lengthened hair would remain strong and also added a special red cloth to wrap around the braid. This would keep the hairstyle and kunai secured as well as add protection. The cloth was wrapped strategically to allow for a balance of reinforcing the hair and mobility as well as a nice mix of pink and red. Basically Sakura would end up looking deadly and desirable.

Kaiya simply wore her face mask and had her headband styled like Ibiki's headband style. She was reading a book. The topic that everyone could see was how to capture and cook giant snakes. Kaiya was really reading a book on fishing which led up to an interesting comment. "Hmm… I see, so I need to find some special bait to catch it?" Kaiya then looked at the two chuunin in disguise. "Hey, you two, care to help me with something?" Most quickly thought she was going to use them as bait and the way she was scanning the crowd indicated she might use them if their not careful. It was rather funny to see everyone's next reaction.

"Did you think things through when you set up this little test? After all, the moment a large crowd like this one finds out that they've been bullied and tricked will no doubt take their frustrations out on you two." It was apparent by their reactions that they hadn't quite thought of that. Some genin had to pick their faces off the floor but all of them thought carefully about Kaiya's words. "Chuunin you may be Kotetsu, Izumo, but a large group of genin working together can prove difficult even for you two." Kaiya said with both of her eyes mimicking Kakashi's eye smile. "Either way we'll be going to the third floor now, later. Oh, and it's been a blast." The two chuunin were soon splashed with water from special tags that Kaiya had placed thanks to two kage bunshins disguised as black cats. 'Bad things happen when you don't pay attention to your surroundings.' Kaiya was tempted to disguise them as foxes but if they were spotted then it would have caused too many questions. Too much attention would be aimed at her if they found out that she created them. Besides, she may dislike a certain cat that drives various genin crazy, but that very cat provides her with an interesting disguise idea to use at her leisure.

Squad seven had only walked a few steps before Mr. Tree up his butt decided to speak. "Hey, who are you?" Kaiya was the only one to look irritated.

"Sasuke meet Neji Hyuuga. Neji meet Sasuke Uchiha. Duck-butt meets Mr. Tree up his butt that could pass for a blind girl." Kaiya then had an amused look as she introduced them to each other with her hand aimed at the appropriate person. This occurred while Rock Lee was introducing himself to Sakura who looked a little upset when he said that he'd protect her with his life. He was at a loss for words beyond an apology when she angrily asked him if he thought she couldn't handle herself. "Sorry about insulting your teammate Lee, TenTen. I trust he hasn't been getting any worse with his speeches about fate."

"It's good to see you again Kaiya. You're looking rather youthful today."

"Yeah it has been a while since we last saw you. What have you been up to lately?"

"Sorry but I was unable to find you before going on a mission to Nami no Kuni. I was actually looking forward to asking Gai for help with increasing my taijutsu training. Though consider certain circumstances…" Kaiya looked rather contemplative before joining her team in deciding to depart for the third floor. Team nine looked at her curiously as she walked away. Though it was odd to hear anyone looking forward to Gai's idea of training, Kaiya was simply unique. So it was rather unnerving to imagine what could have made Kaiya appear thankful for not having Gai help increase her training. This forced TenTen to ask. "What sort of mission did have to do?"

Kaiya and the rest of squad seven had stopped and Kaiya turned her head to speak. "It was a simple C-ranked escort mission…" Kaiya then turned around with her last words being spoken softly but loud enough for them to hear. "…However, it escalated to an A-ranked mission and I was forced to kill again."

Team nine was a little off kilter when they heard this. The fact that Kaiya had killed was startling enough, but the fact that she had said again raised a couple questions. Those who had been listening in steered clear of Kaiya. She may have sounded regretful about killing but she didn't seem like the type to avoid it either. Best to keep a safe distance should she feel it necessary to kill them.

---------

Kaiya was rather disappointed in Lee and Sasuke. She had warned Sasuke that Lee's weights equaled hers give or take a little, yet he still agreed to the fight with Lee. As for Lee, he had to have noticed the turtle and yet he still tried to perform that move on her teammate. A senbon that had a unique attachment to it was beside the pinwheel that pinned Lee's bandages. The attachment was a blue string that had a white bead with the kanji for forgiveness right above a silver bell that had a blue tassel below it. However, before Gai showed up, the one who threw it was noticeably absent. Turns out, she was standing in front of Kakashi-sensei while waiting for her team to arrive, which didn't take too long.

"I see you all finally made it. Good, since it means that I can now let you pass through and formally apply for the Chuunin exam."

"After all, if we didn't arrive as a team then we wouldn't have been allowed to take the exam, right sensei?"

"That's right. But it's a moot point, and I must say that I'm proud of you all. Good luck."

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei." This was spoken in unison by Kaiya, Sakura, and Sasuke. Kakashi moved out of the way and let them through.

---------

Upon entry, team seven got quite a sight. The room was full of various genin. They looked tough and were leaking a little killing intent at Kaiya, Sakura, and Sasuke. It only got stronger with Kaiya's comment.

"What a bunch of weaklings." Only Sasuke and Sakura knew what Kaiya was talking about. The weakest dog barks the loudest and the ones you had to look out for were the calm and bored ones, especially the bored ones. The idiots let up on the killing intent when Kaiya leaked her own. She may have degraded herself by partaking in a contest of seeing who's got the bigger stick, but at least it kept the idiots from getting annoying. Too bad she couldn't say the same about a certain fan-girl.

"Sasuke!"

Kaiya wondered if it was close enough to a flying pig when she saw Ino literally lunge through the air to wrap her arms around Sasuke. Either way, Ino seemed to notice a lack of response from Sakura and tried to see what was up. Imagine her surprise to see Sakura's new look as well as the fact that she was reading a book. "Uh, Sakura is something wrong with you?"

"You say something, Ino?"

Sasuke and Kaiya had to keep from laughing at that. It was a well known fact that her response was how Kakashi acted around Gai, or so the story goes as far as Kaiya knows it.

"Troublesome, so you guys decided to show up too?" Shikamaru said lazily as usual.

"Hey alright, the whole rookie nine showed up for this." Kiba shouted as he and the rest of team eight showed up.

"It's nice to see all of you. Hope you haven't been having any troubles with an unruly ninja who seems to have been rather busy lately." Kaiya asked as she gave Akamaru a bit of her special jerky and handed Kiba as well as Chouji a storage scroll that contained more. Both of them thanked her. The jerky was a special kind that had various herbs which would promote good health and improved healing. The fact that the jerky tastes great also helps.

Everyone's reaction to her information hinted that the ninja did indeed bother them as well. "Troublesome. Any idea what it was about?"

"He was probably just testing us. His voice did remind me of some one back at the academy."

Shino and Shikamaru quickly picked up on that. 'They are so going to do a joint prank after all of this.'

"Do you mind keeping it down? Rookies like you shouldn't draw attention to yourselves. This isn't exactly a walk in the park."

"Well who asked you about what we should do and who are you anyway?" Ino could have been a little more reserved instead of being indignant and ungrateful for some one trying to help them.

"I'm Kabuto Yakushi, but you should know that you made quite an impression to everyone around you."

The rookie nine scanned the room and most of them felt a little intimidated. However, Kaiya's hand twitched a bit when she saw the Rain ninja that were behind her, and Kabuto noticed it but misinterpreted it. "Those guys are from the Rain village, very touchy. Everyone is actually. These exams make everyone tense and it would be a bad idea to rub them the wrong way."

"Hmph, the bored ones are what we should really look out for. Well, sort of." Kaiya had been glancing at Shikamaru at the last part.

"True. I didn't think there would be a veteran of the Chuunin exams amongst you."

"I'm a rookie too. I take it that our presence reminded you of yourself when you took the exam your first time?"

"That's right. This is my seventh time actually." The disbelief on their faces caused him to elaborate. "They're held twice a year so that makes this my fourth year."

"You left out the part about how they alternate which village they're in each year."

"That's true, but if you're a rookie then how do you know about it?"

"I have my ways. You might be surprised."

---------

Kaiya was calmly sitting in her seat next to Hinata as they both listened to Ibiki explain the rules. Kaiya couldn't help but think about Idate Morino, Ibiki's little brother, who had failed the chuunin exam and was tricked by his jounin-sensei. Ibiki was at least able to get the scroll back but the sword was only returned to Konoha after Kaiya went on a revenge trip for the sake of Ibiki. Either way it was nice to see one of the people who raised and trained her when she was a child.

She actually enjoyed seeing him chew out the Sound team for their actions as well as the look on Kabuto's face when he realized that some one put ear plugs in his ears without him noticing. His look was almost as priceless as when she eliminated the card that had her information on it with but a chakra string that had a touch of her fire affinity added to it. No way was she going to let any information of her exist in any hands but the old man's hands, and she didn't feel like killing anyone just to keep a secret.

Although there was the fact that the snake scent was on him and the sound ninja as well. Now Kaiya knew of the possibility it was just coincidence but the fact that all three sources had different allegiances but the same hint of snake on them was practically the mother of all alarms. She'd just have to use her test paper as a means of alert. Simply shouting it to the world would be a bad idea considering the quality and quantity as well as a lack of information of the seven ninja. What was annoying was that on her left was a chuunin that had been slipped in disguised as a genin. He was obviously there to provide information for those who decided to cheat. 'Could they make it any easier for me?'

---------

The first few minutes went by quickly as everyone tried to answer the questions on their tests. They either, had the answers already since they were chuunin, worked to solve the answers like Sakura, or cheated by some means like Sasuke. Kaiya however was different; she was sketching images in the answer blocks. The first three images had a snake in them. The first image was a snake that formed a circle and wore a helmet, armor, and had a sword that its tip was touching the mouth and tail while the handle was touching the middle of the snake. The helmet, armor, and sword bore the leaf symbol on them. The second image was of a snake that appeared to be among sand and the third image was a snake forming the sound village symbol. The other images were simply Kaiya's musings of what she'd do to a certain some one. However, the last two were certainly interesting.

Hinata and the chuunin had been subtly giving Kaiya curious looks for a while now and when she turned her paper over they couldn't help but think. 'She can't be serious can she?' After a bit of waiting for her to do something the chuunin simply went back to his answer sheet. He was unaware of Kaiya starting to fidget, or when she subtly leaned to the right where Hinata was sitting. The poor guy never knew what hit him. His fall drew the attention of the sentinels just long enough that no one noticed his test paper was mysteriously absent. Kaiya made sure to cover her actions with a genjutsu that was rather hard to detect because of how thinly she stretched the chakra over the designated area. She used chakra strings to raise the right arm of his slumped over form and slide the paper to her. The chuunin regained consciousness a little later but before he could mention that he was missing his test paper, Ibiki spoke up and told everyone to put their pencils down.

Ibiki's added rules to the tenth question made a number of people lose their confidence and Kaiya could sense certain members of the rookie nine being tempted to quit. Drastic action had to be taken. A hand was soon raised into the air and when everyone looked they saw it belonged to Kaiya. The next thing they heard caused their doubts to dissipate and look at Kaiya with a mix of gratitude and wondering if she was certifiably crazy.

A loud belch resonated through the room and lasted for a few seconds. "Ah sorry about that, but could we get on with this, I'm starting to fall asleep waiting for the tenth question."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Oh yeah, cowards who run from something like this don't even deserve to be considered candidates for chuunin, and I wouldn't be much of a Hokage if I ran from something that **appeared** hopeless. I don't turn back or go back on my word since that's my nindo. If I want to make my mark on the world then I'll have to prove to everyone that I can surpass some one like my father as well as everyone and anyone who precedes me!" Kaiya stated with enough calm conviction to convince everyone in the room that she'll reach her goal some day. However, this piece of information got most people wondering what Kaiya was talking about but those who thought about it carefully raised their eyebrows at what she implied.

"Very well then… I have no choice but to congratulate you on passing the first part of the chuunin exams!" Ibiki said with a smirk at the end.

'You always did enjoy a good mind game you sadist.' Kaiya softly smiled as she observed Ibiki smiling and laughing as he explained the meaning of the test and the tenth question. Though she did grimace at when Ibiki revealed the scars of Aoi's torture methods. Hinata was able to see that Kaiya's hand was bleeding as she looked at Ibiki's scars. Kaiya talked with Kakashi about it earlier since she noticed how he seemed to feel better when he told her stories of her father, Obito, and Rin. Both of them developed a sibling relationship with Kakashi being like a big brother alongside Anko, Gai, and Itachi. Ibiki seemed more like an uncle like Sarutobi. Iruka was the closest thing to a father figure that Kaiya could get. Fond memories aside, Kaiya took notice of a chakra source coming in fast. 'It would seem Anko's coming…'

A black blur barged its way into the room through a window and two kunai that were stuck into the ceiling revealed that the odd ball was a cloth that had some one in it. "This is no time to be celebrating! My name is Anko Mitarashi and I'm the next proctor! Follow me to the second test!"

"You're early." Kaiya and Ibiki spoke in unison. The rookie nine members couldn't help but be reminded of when Kaiya was Naruto and wondered how much of the Anko they saw was really her. After Anko got over her embarrassment, she mentioned how she'd have more than half be eliminated when she was done with them. Anko dismissed them all after telling them how to find out where to meet her in the morning. It was a simple matter of collecting the tests after the genin left. Ibiki noticed Kaiya's test had a kunai run through it which stuck the thing to her desk. The white cloth on the handle was stained with a bit of blood. He noticed that the test that was pinned was actually two tests and the first one had the correct answers. The test under it belonged to Kaiya and apparently she was trying to warn them of future danger. Ibiki would have to show her test to the Hokage. 'Still, she certainly seems to be in a rather sadistic mood. Not even I would do something like that. However, I wonder about the last two images. She certainly seems happy in both of them, but the people that are with her…'

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Kaiya respectfully kept quiet for Anko's sake since she knew a few things about her big sister's favorite training ground. The Forest of Death wasn't a place for pushovers and even had its own forbidden section where even kage level ninja would have a tough time and they were suppose to be the kind of people who could eat nails and ask for seconds. It was a good thing she told her team and the other rookie nine members to make sure they have a storage scroll with plenty of food and water that could last them a week. Chouji was told to get two or three. 'There's no point in letting my comrades starve or get dehydrated even if they aren't on the same team.' Kaiya tried to tell Gai's team but Neji brushed her off and she wasn't sure whether TenTen heard her suggestion. That girl was probably the only one on the team who could store the food and water anyway. 'If she can store her arsenal in a scroll then she can do the same with the other essentials that keeps a ninja going.' Kaiya didn't inform Kabuto's team since they probably already had an idea of what to prepare for. 'Hopefully, my warning has at least made the old man a little more cautious around certain candidates. Kakashi-sensei did say that the Sand team's jounin sensei had a talk with the Hokage. I just hope it was fruitful. Now if only I could figure out why they're here…'

Most genin found it odd to see a square rock making its way to Kaiya. Those who didn't know a thing about chakra strings found it even odder that Kaiya just raised the square rock to reveal three kids under the obviously false rock. "Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, what are you three doing here and why is it that you think this…" Kaiya pointed to the fake rock they had used. "Looks anything like this…" She then pointed to a rock that was sitting next to her. The odd part was that it wasn't there earlier. The three kids obviously thought about it and realized that Kaiya was right, but they decided to cover their butts by saying it was intentional.

"Oh really, could you explain to me why you intentionally disguised yourself as an obviously fake rock?" This was heard coming from the rock that appeared to be changing its shape right before the eyes of everyone. The result was a cat that looked very familiar. The genins, proctors, and the three kids were stunned. They had just seen a rock transform into a cat and the cat talked using the voice of the Sandaime Hokage. They may be ninjas but you certainly don't see that everyday.

"I'm wondering more about why he's here rather than his choice in a disguise that would make everyone think too long about his disguise to do anything about what he might try to do to them." Kaiya said as she looked at the three kids who suddenly got the impression that she just made them seem more than just three foolish kids who chose a bad disguise. This moment would certainly be remembered well by them and they'll make sure to thank Kaiya for it later. It also would serve as inspiration for unorthodox but effective methods. First things first however…

"We're here to do an interview!" The three kids stated in unison before they explained in detail what they were talking about. Kaiya was a little disappointed with the delay in taking the second part of the exam, but it was better to indulge the kids since they were doing it for the academy newspaper. She was careful in what information she gave them when they interviewed her. Fortunately, it lined up well with what Sasuke and Sakura told them. They interviewed a few others and left. At the time Kaiya had taken off her cloak and lowered her face mask as if appearing to feel uncomfortably warm. In reality, she was preparing for what would happen next.

"You know, for something called the Forest of Death you'd think that the place would have an outward appearance that fits the name." Kaiya said with a smile that remained even after the kunai grazed her cheek as well as when Anko got behind her.

"You do realize that tough guys tend to get their blood all over this forest." Anko said sadistically before pulling out another kunai when she sensed some one behind her. "It's not wise to sneak up on me unless you wish to die, Grass ninja."

"Sorry I was rather excited by the blood and how your kunai sliced a bit of my hair. I simply wished to return it to you." The Grass ninja was smiling the entire time while Anko took her kunai from the rather long tongue.

"Excitement is all well and good, but being suicidal with your attempt of sneaking up on some one is not." Kaiya said as the real her had a kunai aimed that the Grass ninja's neck. "By the way, what is it with older genin using snake oil perfume or cologne? The only person I prefer to smell of snakes is my big sister. Anyone else gets put on my list of people to consider killing. Apparently my list has been growing quite quickly lately." Kaiya quickly moved away but not without leaving the Grass ninja with a little present.

"It's not exactly fighting without authorization from a proctor since Anko did graze me with a kunai, but I've left my mark on you and will be able to hunt you down whenever I like. Even after that cut heals." With that Kaiya simply turned away not failing to notice the Grass ninja boring holes in her back. Anko carefully considered her options and decided it was better to continue with the exam for now and inform the Hokage later. Both of them didn't notice Hinata walking up to the Grass ninja and asking said ninja about the possible jutsu that was used by the ninja from Kusagakure.

Sasuke and Sakura were curious but wisely kept quiet. They watched Kaiya taste the blood on her kunai and it looked as if she was concentrating on it. Whatever she was doing probably involved something they had no business in. Revenge didn't seem likely since she didn't really have fond memories and the look on her face was the wrong kind for revenge. It seemed more like the determination one has when they are protecting those they care about from harm. Sasuke knew the look since he had it when defending Kaiya from the kage bunshins disguised as Aoi Rokusho. Sakura knew the look from how she did her best to protect Tazuna. The only thing they knew for sure. Woe to those who smell of snakes and endanger those Kaiya cares about.

Anko soon explained the particulars of the second part of the exam. She was a little apprehensive about the whole thing but hid it well. Kaiya was actually grateful that she kept her cloak off after she heard about the scrolls. It allowed her to pull a certain trick before the exam even begun. After all, Ibiki did say that disinformation can get you killed, and if your enemy knows that you're hunting for information then the enemy could leave behind bait to kill you with. Kaiya raised her face mask when she delivered the signed consent forms for her team. This hid her smirk from being seen by even some one using the Byakugan.

'It's funny on how people in Konoha seem to worship kekkei genkai like they are gifts of divine origin. All they are is simply a built-in trait that boosts a ninja's performance a bit. The ninja still has to use the kekkei genkai properly as well as admit awareness of possible weaknesses or die like a fool. Kekkei genkai only make a ninja seem like a precious gem among cheap stones. Hmm… That gives me an idea. Tamagan sounds like a nice name for the doujutsu. Jewel eye. It doesn't give anything away like the Sharingan's name or sound arrogant like the Byakugan's name. The name is simple, truthful, and humble. It's definitely a good choice.'

Kaiya's cheery mood did not distract her from taking the Heaven scroll with her left hand, moved it under her cloak, and handed it to Sasuke with her right hand and told him to hold onto it. Sasuke nodded and placed it in his pack as they walked to their gate. Once there, Kaiya put her cloak back on and they waited for when the gate would open.


	9. Chapter 8

Forgiveness of a Kitsune

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did then there would have been serious changes made to the story.**

Chapter 8

The other genins may have run through the gates once they were opened and rushed their way through a bit of the forest, but Kakashi's genin simply strolled their way through. No point in wasting their energy when their enemies will their energy trying to find them. They pretty much accounted for a lot of things during the time that they waited for the gates to open. So the sudden screaming didn't really bother them. Unfortunately, Kaiya didn't account for Mother Nature calling her.

"Hold up, I need to find the ladies' room." Her embarrassment was obvious.

"Be quick, we don't know how soon some one will find us. I'd prefer it if that doesn't happen while we're separated."

"Don't worry." This was the last thing they heard from Kaiya before she disappeared behind some foliage. Sakura simply looked incredulously at Kaiya's backside. 'She didn't do that earlier when she had the chance to relieve herself in a not so hostile environment? With the way she's so relaxed I'd almost think that this is some kind of playground for her.' If she only knew…

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Three Rain genin sneaking up on one Leaf genin should have meant that the Leaf genin would be surprised by their ambush and vulnerable long enough to be overwhelmed. This possibility should have been improved by the fact that the leaf genin was answering Mother Nature's call. Unfortunately, they didn't notice her guards and were quickly knocked out. Kagari and Mubi both shared the same thought. 'This is the last time we listen to Oboro about what we should do.' After the real Kaiya was done she quickly went through their things and found an Earth scroll. She quickly stored it away and went to rejoin her team. 'Leaving those idiots like that might not be wise but at least this way the only thing leaving them vulnerable to anything is the fact their unconscious.'

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"You certainly took your time." Sasuke was obviously irritated.

"Sorry but I had a run in with a genin team of Rain ninja. Honestly, I'm beginning to wonder what the deal is with us and Rain ninja. Anyway I got their scroll after they were unconscious." While Kaiya was saying this her hands were signaling something else in the code that they developed together. There was no point in learning how to talk while remaining silent if some one recognized the hand moments that stealth squads learn to use to communicate while staying silent. Kaiya simply used the current password and told them the details.

_Panda. I have the two scrolls we need to pass. It is best that we head for the tower as fast as we can. However, some one is near. Maybe we can fool them with an extra Heaven._

"Show me." Sasuke said. It was better to play along since removing their weights and sealing them into a scroll would take too long and the enemy team would be able to exploit that. He smirked when his Sharingan saw Kaiya pull out a scroll of similar shape and size to the scrolls involved in the test. Deactivating his Sharingan he could see that the scroll was well disguised as a Heaven scroll. 'If I know her, then she probably set up the one she gave me to give to enemy teams that would probably kill us even if we gave them our scroll. We'd have to put up a decent fight and act like we're protecting the real deal for it to be believable, but in the end the team will have a bogus scroll that would blow up in their face.' "Alright, now we have two Heaven scrolls and that allows us a little more freedom in this exam. Still, we need to get an Earth scroll so it'll be best if we head for the tower and wait to fight some one who has the scroll we need. Kaiya, I want you to hold onto the scroll you got from the other team and I'll keep our scroll. We better move before some one else shows up."

'You just had to jinx us with that.' Kaiya thought when a blade of grass cut across her uncovered cheek. She was blown away a moment later.

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"Thank you for informing me of this Anko, but I'm curious why you didn't just barge your way into the forest after the genin were allowed in or simply attacked the Grass ninja before that." Sarutobi said as he looked at Anko as if trying to figure her out.

"Kaiya." Anko answered as if that was the ultimate answer to his question.

"I see she has changed you then?"

"Who wouldn't after spending time with her?"

"Fair enough, keep me posted if anything further happens. If it really is Orochimaru then we need to be careful. Who knows what his reasons might be."

"It can't be good that's for sure. Kaiya's warning is proof enough of that. She was certainly subtle since she obviously knew we couldn't end the exam just because of what she smelled on the other genin."

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'If I find out that Temari was behind that I am so going to make her pay for it. I know fan-girls can be a pain but this is ridiculous. Is she trying to be funny by being a girl with a giant fan? Next thing I know I'll get attacked by a giant snake.'

Hissss…

'It figures that would happen, I should have said something else like perhaps Tsunade would show up and tell me the secret of how she went from flat to the envy of most women.' Kaiya thought sarcastically as she moved to get out of being eaten by a giant snake. She did have the shape-shifting ability from becoming Akahana's heir so Tsunade's secret wasn't really necessary if she actually has one. When the snake finally closed its mouth with Kaiya inside of it, the poor snake never knew what went wrong.

Boom! The giant snake exploded. 'One has got to love Bunshin Daibakuha.'

"Guess I better go find the others now that the snake is dead. It's a good thing blowing up my bunshin keeps me from having the bunshin's memories of the snake's insides." Kaiya made her way back to her team with a small shiver of how gross those memories might have been.

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'Damn it! Where is she? I can't use the phony scroll since a decoy wouldn't work on whoever this ninja is. Besides, Kaiya's the one who can set off the explosion and allow all of us enough time as we try to get away. I'll be sure to thank Kaiya later for the training in dealing with large amounts of killing intent. The amount we just faced was a bit much to handle but at least we weren't completely frozen in fear.' Sasuke thought as he fought the Grass ninja who soon wrapped herself around the branch he was standing on and would have attacked him were it not for three shuriken and a kunai that impeded her path.

"I leave you guys alone for a minute and you're already fighting." Kaiya said as if trying to scold children. "Well, at least you're not fighting each other." She smiled and chuckled a little at that.

"This isn't a time for games Kaiya." Sasuke could tell she wasn't playing around though.

"So Kaiya, I'm impressed that you've defeated my friend so quickly."

Pulling the scroll from his pack Sasuke got the ninja's attention. "Hey, you want our Heaven scroll right? Fine, take it then and leave us in peace." His arm tossed the scroll to the Grass ninja.

Sakura already knew that Kaiya had the real Heaven scroll but felt that this ninja wouldn't just leave them in peace. Her teammates no doubt knew that too and all it took was to see Kaiya preparing for what would happen next. 'So the scroll is more than just a decoy.' Just by watching Kaiya she could figure out the plan quickly and prepared herself, completely ignoring how the ninja was lecturing them on how prey reacts. 'Sometimes prey bites back you know. I almost feel bad for what's about to happen to you, Orochimaru.' The bingo books were very informative. The trick to surviving the higher ranked ones was to play stupid and ignorant.

Almost instantly, the Grass ninja's or rather Orochimaru's control of the situation shattered the moment the Heaven scroll in her or his hand exploded. Before Orochimaru knew it, the three genin had suddenly become many and they coated the foliage in a mix of black, blue, and red. He had a feeling that the real genin had left and that he was staring at mere bunshin since none of them moved. That theory lasted three seconds before a bunshin that looked like Kaiya hit him while using Tsunade's secret strength technique. This surprise made him think that the one who hit him was the real genin until he hit back after recovering and she went poof.

"Kage Bunshin?"

The bunshin's "teammates" also hit him while using the same technique as he was distracted and the other copies of the three genin soon joined the fight. They showed amazing coordination. On occasional intervals a bunshin would explode once they got close enough to damage him. Orochimaru was in trouble and severely irritated, but the bunshin kept him busy while team seven made their way to the tower. They put up a good fight and may have been trained well, but they weren't about to deal with such a highly ranked missing-nin all on their own.

A jounin who isn't taking them very seriously is one thing, but to deal with a shinobi who could give kages a hard time is too much. The entire team of genin shared the same thought as they sealed away their weights into a storage scroll and raced their way to the tower. 'Having great skills as a prankster sure comes in handy when you apply them to the life of a ninja.' Had anyone been watching they would have only been able to make out two fast moving blurs even though their trail hinted of a third member. Whatever Orochimaru wanted with them was thankfully denied when they saw the welcomed sight of the tower doors. It was sanctuary as far as they were concerned and would hopefully remain that way.

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Anko wasn't sure what to feel when she ended up seeing yet another cat talk. 'I at least I know I'm not crazy since everyone else practically saw it too.' When the cat told her of Orochimaru being here she quickly told the chuunin who showed up to inform the Hokage and get ANBU in the forest to help put a stop to Orochimaru. The chuunin had paused for only a moment but quickly followed the order. He did wonder about the odd cat sitting by her. 'Since when do cats have red fur and bright green eyes?' Anko had the cat lead the way.

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Iruka was rather surprised to be suddenly summoned so soon after the exam started, but he couldn't help feeling a bit of pride at how he saw Kaiya, Sasuke, and Sakura standing in front of him. Granted they looked like they've seen better days but they were alright. Before he could say anything, Kaiya interrupted him.

"Iruka-sensei, we need to speak to the Hokage. Orochimaru attacked us. I already sent warning to Anko and she made sure to have the Hokage informed as well as the ANBU. Hopefully, they'll get there quickly to help Anko since the number of bunshin I created is running low."

The only thing that could have surprised Iruka more than something like that would have been if Kaiya said she was pregnant. The list of the most likely responsible males would have been rather short but long enough to be a pain narrowing it down if no one talked. Regardless, Iruka had to handle the troubles at hand.

"I see, in that case I'll have to ask you to wait here in the tower since the Hokage will no doubt show up. Actually he would have shown up anyway for the third exam after the second exam was over with. I'm amazed at how quickly you passed it. You actually set a new record. How many bunshin do you have left Kaiya?"

"Around ten at least, but one of them is with Anko and she's on her way. They are all fighting rather well and Orochimaru is looking pretty upset. Actually he or she looks like crap and is very tempted to just end the fight."

"She?"

"Yeah, he posed as a kunoichi of Kusagakure but for some reason his body seems to generate a natural female scent. It's rather odd considering his spot in the bingo book and history books has him down as male."

"Just be sure to mention everything you know about the situation to the Hokage. For now you better rest up after I explain the words behind me. Congratulations by the way."

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It was almost degrading to watch her former sensei get beat up by a single genin's kage bunshin, regardless of the attacks that they managed to perform on him. Anko noticed that in the midst of battle, one bunshin had done something odd. Apparently, sometime earlier during the fight Orochimaru pulled out the Kusanagi Sword. Anko watched as a bunshin seemed to use its palm to move the sword out of its way and get in a kick while two other bunshin were attacking. The kick succeeded and actually expelled chakra on impact in a manner similar to a Hyuuga. Well, that's if a Hyuuga fighting style actually used the foot in such a manner. Anko was distracted by the arrival of ANBU members who needed only to appear and cause Orochimaru to decide that it was better to just leave.

Before meeting Kaiya, Anko would have probably done a number of things the very moment she suspected Orochimaru nearby. If she had been in a similar situation as this one without having met Kaiya she might have simply charged her way in without waiting to observe things and did something stupid. She might have even gotten upset with the ANBU members for scaring Orochimaru away. Overall, she's still the same mostly, but with a slightly brighter view on life. As a result of this, Anko simply made her way to the tower with the ANBU members alongside her.

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Being Hokage is a great honor and means a lot more than just being the best ninja of the village. Those who become Hokage are regarded highly with respect, but in the honest opinion of each Hokage it means that they have to deal with a lot of crap despite what "glory" they get from their position. Sarutobi found himself contemplating everything that has happened recently. First, the sand team's jounin-sensei, Baki, had a talk with him about Kaiya's message to his genin. Baki decided to send a message to the Kazekage and made sure to include something only the Kazekage would remember.

His answer was wrong and this forced Baki to reveal the invasion to the Hokage. The news of the Kazekage being dead and impersonated greatly disturbed the Kazekage's children. They were told just before they went to the Forest of Death. Temari and Kankuro had a hard time believing it and Gaara seemed almost indifferent, but he was obviously upset about it as well. He did seem to consider the offer of improving the seal containing the Shukaku after a bit of explaining things, but they agreed to do it during the month long wait period. Risky since the demon would try to fight desperately for control. Still, at least Sunagakure wouldn't have an unstable Jinchuuriki but a stable one who could actually sleep without fear of losing control to the Shukaku.

Secondly, Orochimaru decided to show up and attack team seven specifically. From what Kaiya told him, Sarutobi knew that Orochimaru was targeting the Sharingan and had finally succeeded in throwing away his humanity. He will have to be eliminated for the sake of village and the rest of the world. There was also the matter of the sound team and Kabuto's team. While he didn't like the idea, they would have to be eliminated in a subtle manner. The sound team was probably just a team of pawns and the only one genin of the two teams who would be worth interrogating would be Kabuto.

Sarutobi could tell that the boy could have easily become chuunin by now. The chuunin exams were not the only way a genin could become chuunin and there was the fact of how many times he took the exams as well as the amount of his information. Based of this information, it would be difficult to get anything out of him, difficult but not impossible for Ibiki. They would need to seal away Kabuto's chakra to prevent something from happening if he should survive to be interrogated. For now it was a simple matter of setting up the genin against the appropriate genin. It was odd that he actually agreed to let the chuunin exams continue despite the danger but at least this way he could control the outcome of the war that would occur. Sarutobi just hoped that he was doing the right thing with allowing things to continue. He may be in a better position to control things but Kaiya seemed to be the real manipulator. 'Thankfully, she is on Konoha's side and the village better not make her regret it.' Sarutobi thought darkly. 'I'll have to see about getting Jiraiya to help with what is to come and Kaiya's idea sounds like a good one.'

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The remaining amount of time for the exams was used wisely by team seven. They relaxed and enjoyed the peace. The other teams arrived over time. Sakura and Sasuke trained and occasionally played a card game with either Kaiya or some other genin. They pointedly avoided Kabuto's team as well as the Sound team. The Sand team helped them in those regards, yet they were tempted to just eliminate the two teams but were convinced by Kaiya to reconsider. After all, it might be more interesting to have Orochimaru see them die before his eyes even if they don't mean anything to him.

Team eight was a bit nervous around the sand team and it was understandable. They did watch the team eliminate a team of rain ninja with little effort exerted by one of their own members. After a while team eight actually relaxed around the sand team when they learned that Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari were keeping team seven safe. Sure Kaiya, Sasuke, and Sakura had to deal with Kiba's insults until Kaiya suddenly appeared behind him when he made the mistake of closing his eyes. A poke to the back of the head got him to shut up. It didn't really do anything besides warn him that Kaiya could have done much worse and he would have been too slow to stop it. In the end, Kiba quieted down and just in time too since he noticed Hinata and Kaiya having a conversation about something. He wasn't sure since he never learned to read lips. Kiba would have only been able to read Hinata's lips anyway since Kaiya had her face mask up.

In terms of weirdness, seeing an Akimichi eat ranked highly amongst the weird. It's like watching a black hole only on a small scale and limited to food. Though the real question was just how much food did Chouji have stored into his scrolls. It was a good thing Lee didn't seem to consider Chouji's eating habits as some challenge to beat. Kaiya actually considered covering her eyes with her headband and try to use her chakra as a form of echolocation so she wouldn't have to see Chouji eat. That's if you call shoving food in your mouth while munching it as quickly as possible to make room for the next bite as actual eating. She really wondered if he was able to taste his food. Either way she had other problems.

Most genin who had been observing Kaiya while they were in the tower noticed an odd habit. Even Sakura and Sasuke saw the odd behavior but were able to confirm that it really was Kaiya despite the odd phase of laziness and strange pauses. However, what most people didn't know was that after Kaiya rested fully she made many kage bunshin that would be disguised as black cats with blue eyes. The blue eyes didn't stay blue for long though everyone activated the Tamagan and went to observe those still outside the tower. Kaiya may have been able to collect quite a few jutsus from her senseis as well as her own information gatherings, but she was still limited by the fact that other villages had jutsus that Konoha might not know about yet. A few curious cats roaming the forest would certainly help Kaiya pick up on some jutsus, and she could also keep an eye on those still in the exam. Orochimaru might still be out there as well. Keeping the cats going and dealing with the information dumps from when one dispels can be tiring and make Kaiya act like Shikamaru for a while. The result was worth it. 'Thank you ninjas of Rain, Waterfall, Mist, and Grass; your jutsu lessons have been most helpful.'

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Twenty one genin reached the tower within the time limit. The rookie nine, Gai's team, Kabuto's team, Sound and Sand teams were all standing in front of the Hokage who had their jounin senseis and the proctors standing near the giant arms behind him. The arms were positioned so that their hands formed a hand seal. It was an impressive sight to see in the large room, but Kaiya was use to it and was starting to get bored and thought she might fall asleep while standing. 'I wonder if the ANBU that guard the doors to the Hokage's office feel like this. They should probably consider having a group guarding the door and each guard takes shifts while the others relax near by. That would prevent the security risk of a sleeping guard at a key point.' After these thoughts, Kaiya soon saw the proctor Hayate Gekko had asked the Hokage for him to explain what they would do next. 'Thank goodness, long speeches are so troublesome. A preliminary doesn't sound so bad though. It might actually be fun.'

The proctor asked everyone if anyone wished to bow out and said that it would be okay since it wouldn't affect their teammates' participation. No one quit. Kabuto might have quit originally but Orochimaru had him stay since he sneaked a peak at the set up for the fights. The board may have made it seem random, yet it was anything but random. However, Orochimaru didn't know about the sudden change in the fight set up and it's not like he could stop it without revealing himself. He couldn't help but feel impending doom and regretted having Kabuto stay to test the girl he'd have to fight when he saw the names for the first fight. After all, the girl did not have that name earlier when he last looked.

Kaiya Namikaze vs. Kabuto Yakushi

Those not participating in the fight went up the stairs to watch the two genin engage in combat. Before the proctor signaled the start of the fight, Kabuto decided to have a few words.

"I didn't imagine we'd have to fight each other. No hard feelings right?"

"No, I suppose not. However, don't expect me to go easy on you just because you wear the same symbol as the rest of us."

"I see, well that's fair I suppose. It'd be an insult if you weren't serious, but I'm curious about something. What's with that kitten you have with you? It hardly looks like something to bring to a fight, unlike that giant sword you have with you."

Kaiya softly petted the blue-eyed white kitten that was sitting on her left shoulder with her right hand and before letting it rest at her side she fingered the Kubikiri Houcho and smiled. "Sometimes things are more than what they appear to be."

Kabuto merely raised an eyebrow at that and waited for the proctor.

"Begin." Hayate said while signaling the start of the fight with his hands.

Kabuto drew a weapon and took up a defensive stance and waited for Kaiya to do something. He didn't know what she could do and felt it was better to wait for her to make a move. Kabuto was not disappointed but he was surprised by what she did.

"Ninpou: Kirigakure no jutsu"

Thick mist began to form and quite a number of people were confused how she managed to perform it. Kakashi and Sasuke each used the Sharingan to see what was going on the moment she performed the jutsu and saw how she pulled off her trick. Kakashi was the only one of the two to explain.

"So the Kaiya that we've been seeing was just a kage bunshin and the water source was a Mizu Bunshin disguised as the sword. I thought it was odd of her to have that sword."

"It seems she doesn't want us to see something, Kakashi. Perhaps it would be best if we respect her wish."

"You're right, Gai. You and Kurenai better tell Hinata and Neji to not use the Byakugan to see into the mist. This fight could get ugly."

"That is a most youthful decision, my eternal rival!"

"You say something?"

'Oh, you are so hip it makes me so mad.'

Orochimaru was rather frustrated since the mist was so thick that only some one with the Byakugan could see what's going on and they weren't allowed to see anything. That cut off his alternative of finding out what happened since he wouldn't be able to overhear or read their lips. Then again what happened next made him and everyone else wonder if they really wanted to know.

"How do you like it Kabuto? This mist is so thick that it might as well be ramen broth. You're practically blind." Those listening couldn't help but sweat drop at the food reference.

"Yeah, but you're blind in this mist too."

A dark chuckling could be heard from all around. "Is that so? I can see you just fine and even if I couldn't I can still use my other senses to hunt you down. Regardless, I'm about to show you something that will probably give you nightmares, **but that's if you survive**."

Kabuto and the others outside the mist flinched when they heard Kaiya's last words and shuddered when they heard an inhuman roar. Gaara was even affected, though that could be attributed to the fact he was behind Kabuto. Everyone compared it to the sound of thunder. The sound of large paws padding across the floor was heard and Kabuto soon saw what roared. He screamed like a girl due to the fearsome image of a white fox with unique eyes generating enough killing intent that he was frozen in fear and he could only scream while the fox attacked.

Those outside the mist could only hear the gruesome sounds of a wild animal mauling Kabuto. The genin's screams soon died out and the other sounds slowly faded into silence. Everyone was on the edge of their seat, figuratively since they were standing, and were wondering whether Kabuto got lucky and lived. They jumped when a growl was heard and even Orochimaru flinched when he saw Kabuto be thrown out of the mist and his back impacting with the wall. The state Kabuto was in was rather surprising. He looked a lot better than what they thought he went through by the sound of things. The Leaf ninja who knew of Kabuto's traitorous secret had actually felt relief that he was alive. The entire audience wasn't prepared for what happened next. The Hokage however had but one thought as he watched. 'It's a good thing I managed to get Jiraiya to watch this. His skills might be required afterwards.'

"**Amaterasu**"

Black flames engulfed Kabuto as they blew a hole through the mist. It was fortunate for those above Kabuto's position that the upper level was high enough to avoid the intense flames. The attack may have only lasted a couple seconds but it was enough. The hole in the mist quickly closed to make it impossible for everyone but Gaara to distinguish what was inside. He was the only one that had been looking into the mist when everyone else focused on the flames hitting Kabuto.

Gaara may have had doubts about the Hokage's offer and considering things it was understandable. However, when he saw the eyes of the beast that was no doubt the same genin that he saw earlier, he had his answer. Years of reading people for the sake of surviving in the Sand village, helped him in reading what the eyes and body movements of the beast were saying. _"Endanger my friends and you will die."_ This was the overall message. The beast's tails appeared to be in a defensive position and ready to protect those behind it. The eyes had fierce determination as well as provided him a glimmer of insight with how the purple pupil had changed from a dot to a slit. 'She's like me but she fights to protect those she cares about. Her strength is amazing. I wonder…'

Orochimaru watched, fully knowing that he just lost the boy that Sasori had slipped into his organization to act as a spy and provide information for the puppeteer. Orochimaru however, convinced Kabuto to change allegiances and help the Snake Sannin. Kabuto was quite a precious piece in his game of destroying Konoha, but now he lost that piece and will have to find a suitable replacement to perform the tasks that he wanted Kabuto to perform. 'At least I still have the sand village on my side. I simply need to find some one else to deliver the plans to Baki.'

---------

The mist slowly cleared to reveal Kaiya standing calmly with her eyes closed. She appeared to be standing exactly where she was before the match started. The sword and the kitten were both missing. The observant audience noticed that her headband was adjusted so that the top of her head wasn't covered and the facemask was lowered. Her serene yet sad face looked as if to be shedding tears. It made the situation seem rather surreal given how brutal the fight was.

"Since Kabuto is dead. The winner is Kaiya Namikaze." Hayate cough talked. Kaiya soon walked to the upper level to join her team and watch the remaining fights. Those she passed by were a bit nervous when she got close and while the next fight was being determined Kakashi decided to ask the question that was on everyone's mind.

"Was that really necessary?"

"I did not take pleasure in it, but… A little loss of blood is a small price to pay for purging poison from the body. Besides, thanks to a friend of mine I now know everything he knew and she's holding onto the information for me." Kaiya's words caused mixed reactions but no one voiced their thoughts since she seemed genuinely regretful. Sasuke simply used a fire shunshin to get down and face his opponent. 'This poor sap won't know what hit him. We must purge the poison, huh? Fine…'

Misumi Tsurugi vs. Sasuke Uchiha


	10. Chapter 9

Forgiveness of a Kitsune

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did then there would have been serious changes made to the story.**

Chapter 9

Misumi Tsurugi vs. Sasuke Uchiha

The fight started after Jiraiya showed up and quickly sealed the flames into a scroll. He then made his way up to the upper level to talk with Kaiya but Kakashi got to him first for the sake of signing his book. Jiraiya could see Kaiya's face and decided to wait till later since she appeared regretful despite the fact she had covered her eyes with her headband. Besides he had a fan to deal with and could not disappoint his fan. He soon joined everyone in watching the fight that ended amazingly fast. Sasuke had struck a pose that looked distinctly familiar to those who've seen it, specifically Lee and Gai.

"That stance…" Lee said shocked.

"Kaiya you didn't…" Gai's disapproval was obvious.

"No, I did not teach Sasuke the taijutsu fighting style that Lee uses. I leave the teaching of Lee's style up to Lee himself. That pose however, can be used in more ways than just the starting stance of Lee's taijutsu. You'll see what I mean soon enough. If it's any consolation then I'd like to say I'm sorry for teaching him even that much of your style." Kaiya confused them at first since her eyes were covered and not even Neji's Byakugan could see through the cloth. It only took a split second to piece things together and they just figured she knew what they were talking about and didn't need to see.

"Thank you and I'd like to say that I'm sorry too for thinking that you'd do something as unyouthful as that Kaiya."

"Your welcome Lee and it's alright. Besides I deserved it."

Kaiya quickly turned her attention to the fight before she had to watch Gai and Lee act like an odd version of father and son. The thought actually caused a sad smile and a tear to be shed at her lack of parents biological or adopted. She didn't really notice or pay attention to the others watching her curiously. They wondered how much she could see without her eyes. Regardless, they watched Hayate signal for the fight to begin and Tsurugi charged Sasuke with the intent of subduing him. Too bad Sasuke had other ideas and the one hand behind his back performed hand seals. To those in front of him as well as Tsurugi, it would simply appear as though Sasuke's arm was having a muscle spasm. Tsurugi soon found out otherwise.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu"

Instant roasted noodle…

Sasuke puked his guts out and lunch soon found its way onto the floor. He wasn't attacked by Tsurugi but rather a part of him didn't agree with what he just did. 'Kakashi was right. First kills are difficult to handle.' Sasuke wiped his mouth and waved off the medic. They had a mess to clean up again and he wasn't going to be in the way. He got a few curious looks and could see Kakashi thinking about something. 'He's probably worried about how two of his students practically executed their opponents and wonders if Sakura will do the same. She may be a pyromaniac but she's not the type to do what we just did. Sakura would only kill her opponent if her opponent forces her to do so. Speaking of Sakura…'

Sakura Haruno vs. Kankuro

"Are they trying to get our matches over with quickly or something?" Sakura thought aloud as she performed her water shunshin. She didn't fail to notice the raised eyebrows of the audience that Sasuke simply ignored. Kankuro simply walked down. The audience hoped that the fight between these two would be different in that no one gets killed. Knocked unconscious is fine but they were beginning to regret allowing the option of killing. Regardless, the next fight was about to begin.

"So are all Leaf genin like your teammates?" Kankuro asked as he set down the bandage wrapped object he had been carrying.

"No, but it's just like Kaiya said. Sometimes things are more than what they appear to be. You'll probably want to unwrap that for this fight since those bandages will come in handy later."

"Yeah right, I think I'll be fine. The only real threat is probably that kunai in your hair."

"Begin."

Sakura charged forward quickly enough to kick up the bandaged object and thrust her palm have the object impact against the wall. "Since you won't use that th…" Sakura looked curiously at the collapsed form of Kankuro and was clearly confused. "What just happened?"

The audience was trying to figure that out as well since the whole thing didn't make sense. Kaiya had even started laughing at the outcome and her laughter caused Temari and Gaara to wake up from their shock. "Kankuro you are an idiot!" They both said it in unison but Gaara said it softly while Temari practically yelled as she tried to look down at the wrapped bundle. It took a little investigating by the proctor to figure out what happened. The Kankuro that everyone had seen was just a puppet and the wrapped bundle was where Kankuro hid himself. Apparently his puppet's insult to Sakura made him the unwitting target of her attack. The floor was soon cleared for the next fight.

Chouji Akimichi vs. Zaku Abumi

"All right! It's time to kick butt!" Chouji shouted in excitement. Odd considering what kind of person he is but Zaku had insulted his friend when they were resting at the tower. Zaku was saved from a beat down by Kaiya convincing Chouji that he'd get his chance to fight soon enough. It would be best to do it when they were allowed and could get away with beating the crap out of their opponents. Besides, she had an idea that he might like…

"Heh, like I'd lose to you fatty." Zaku said as he walked down with one of his bandaged arms still in a sling from what happened to him in the forest. Kaiya smirked at the memory of how her bunshin abused his arms when they saw what he could do with them. It provided a little stress relief and delayed the sound team a while. Still, it amazed her at how stupid Zaku could be.

Anyone who knew Chouji or any Akimichi for that matter knows to never say such a taboo word. Needless to say a number of Leaf ninja groaned at the Sound ninja's stupidity. Even Orochimaru inwardly groaned at Zaku being an idiot. 'Even for fodder, that was really stupid.'

"You'll regret those words as well as insulting my friend Shikamaru." Chouji said as he stood in front of Zaku. His hands wrapping kunai with ninja wire stringed through their holes around his body and formed a hand seal before Hayate started the fight. Zaku had only seconds to realize that the one he just insulted became the equivalent of a spiked boulder and it was coming towards him. He tried to slow it with his Zankuuha but unfortunately for him it didn't work out too well. All it did was delay the inevitable and his shock kept him frozen for too long.

It'd be questionable if he'd survive let alone be able to continue being a ninja after being rolled over by a spiked boulder, but the medics would do their best. Now, one would think that victory would go to Chouji because of what happened. Unfortunately, it seems Chouji's attack made him too dizzy to stay conscious despite how the plan was carefully calculated for him to win. Thus the result was a draw since both fighters were obviously unable to fight. Kaiya couldn't help but groan and chuckle as she carried Chouji up to his team when the medics said that he was okay. She certainly caused a few eyebrows to rise when she did so with her eyes covered, but Neji said something about chakra pulses.

"I wonder if he planned to do that."

"Probably, but at least he'll be happy to know that Zaku guy got beat. Troublesome… Just how is it that you can see without your eyes?"

"Yeah, oh and have you ever heard of echolocation? Anyway, at least now Chouji can relax and watch the other fights when he wakes up. Speaking of which…"

"Oh man, Ino's not going to like that."

Hinata Hyuuga vs. Ino Yamanaka

"Better to have some one with a pure heart like Hinata instead of the other possible choices."

"Yeah I hear you, troublesome." 'But that doesn't explain how you knew it was Hinata.'

The fight wasn't much of a fight since Ino didn't really have much to work with beyond her Shintenshin no jutsu. 'That's the price I pay I guess. I wonder when Sakura finally woke up and got as strong as she did.' Both opponents were pretty much stuck using taijutsu and Ino was quickly unable to use her arms and legs. Hinata had been practicing thanks to Kaiya and her team. She may only use the Jyuuken to disable the opponent's usage of their limbs but it was enough against Ino. It was almost cute seeing Hinata apologize to Ino for winning. Kaiya actually got curious looks when she smirked and said who won even though she had her headband cover her eyes the entire time.

Shino Aburame vs. Yoroi Akado

This was probably the worst match up for Yoroi. He may be able to drain chakra from his opponents with a jutsu but his hand has to touch them. Sadly that gives Shino the chance to place bugs on him as they fight. Yoroi found himself being drained of chakra at a faster rate than what he could absorb from Shino. He was coated with bugs and all anyone could see was what looked like him struggling as he was being drained dry.

Shino was among the only genins not under the tutelage of Kakashi Hatake who were able to figure out what Kaiya was talking about. 'Konoha is the body and we are her life blood. Kabuto's team is or was the poison.' Disposal of the body went by quickly. When Shino got up to the upper level he heard a faint whisper from what sounded like Kaiya. "I'm sorry." He knew what she meant by that and in his own way made sure to let her know that it was alright. Her sad smile really made him curious about how she could see since his bugs didn't pick up any chakra pulses after Kaiya finished carrying Chouji to the upper level.

Despite the mystery, he and the rest of the audience watched the next match.

Neji Hyuuga vs. Kin Tsuchi

"Begin."

Kin threw her interesting assortment of senbon at Neji who simply dodged them and slowly made his way to her. He noticed her expression and decided to sate his curiosity.

"You seem rather confident that you will win, but fate has decided that victory will be mine."

"Is that so? Well fate better tell that to the bells." Kin said as she pulled on a bit of thread to make the bells behind Neji make their distinctive sound. Neji might have paused a moment to see what was going on but he didn't have to turn around.

"I see you planned to distract me with those bells behind me and hit me with senbon while my back is turned. However, these eyes of mine can see them and I don't even need to turn my head. Your distraction won't work on me."

"They don't just serve as a distraction you know. The bells give off a distinctive sound that causes a person to feel paralysis and even hallucinate."

"Odd that I don't seem to feel a thing don't you think?"

"What do you mean?" Kin said with confusion and anger in her voice.

"What I mean is that I can't hear what you're saying." Neji smirked sadistically as he moved quickly to attack Kin who was shocked at what Neji said. She barely had enough time to get away and form a different plan of attack.

"What are you talking about? You're talking to me and that means you can hear me just fine. So that means you should be able to hear the bells."

Neji chuckled. "Have you ever heard of reading lips? It's a simple matter for me to know what you're saying. The reason why I paused earlier was because I saw movement behind me and it didn't take long to notice the thread. Throughout this whole match I've been deaf the entire time. So you better come up with a new kind of attack or forfeit. However, fate has decreed that victory shall be mine."

Throughout the whole thing Kaiya was smiling, Kin kept up with her long distance attack style and forced Neji to unveil a defensive technique when she launched a mass of shuriken.

"Hakke Shou Kaiten"

The shuriken were deflected and Neji decided to end things with his next attack.

"You're within my field of divination… Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou"

"Two palms… Four palms… Eight palms… Sixteen palms… Thirty-two palms… Sixty-four palms!"

Kin was unable to continue fighting as her body fell to the floor. Kaiya was smiling widely and even Hinata had a small smirk. Both of them had to straighten out their faces when Neji was declared the winner and he walked up to the upper level. Neji removed the earplugs and thanked TenTen for convincing him to use them. TenTen simply told him that he was welcome and silently thanked Kaiya for giving them to her before the preliminaries. It's too bad they couldn't wear the earplugs when Gai and Lee rant about what they'd do if they cannot do something. 'Looks like Lee will finally have his chance to fight. He's been a bit impatient.'

Rock Lee vs. Kiba Inuzuka

"Alright, hey Akamaru it looks like we hit the jackpot." Akamaru wasn't so sure but at least they'd be okay with fighting Lee since the only other option would have been Shikamaru. Too late now to worry about it since Kiba jumped down and completely missed Kaiya softly smiling at how naïve he was being.

"Don't mind his words Lee. He is ignorant of your abilities and will soon see how you can be a splendid ninja with just using Taijutsu."

"Thanks Kaiya."

"You're welcome Lee" Kaiya said as she watched him make his way downstairs. "Hey Gai-sensei, do you think Lady Tsunade might be able to fix his problem with using chakra?"

"It is possible but finding her would be very difficult. Why do you ask?"

"Just something I've been thinking about recently. However, should she help Lee gain the ability to use chakra then he will no doubt need training in its use. There's also the problem of using jutsus while using the lotus. The result would be painful for Lee as well as his opponent."

"You're right. Thanks for telling me this Kaiya…" Kaiya tuned out the rest and watched the fight get underway. At first Kiba tried to gut-check Lee after having Akamaru back off, but unfortunately Lee moved out of the way. Since there was only one thing behind Lee, Kiba had to stop before he hit the wall. For the most part, Lee simply dodged and performed occasional counterattacks while reserving most of his energy since Kiba was brash and rash enough to waste his. Even though Akamaru joined the fight soon enough, Lee still made it seem easy. He did however have to retreat and consider things carefully when Kiba and Akamaru started doing their high speed taijutsu. Lee was told take off his weights and when they dropped Kiba and Akamaru had but one thought. 'Ah crap…'

It was over in seconds. Kiba and Akamaru were out cold. At least it was better than how Gaara took down Dosu Kinuta. That was the fastest fight so far. Well, actually Gaara just used his sand to crush Dosu so the fight was sort of one sided like how the fight between Shikamaru and TenTen started out. In the end he won out with his careful planning and maintaining an awareness of where he and his opponent are on the battlefield. After using the Kage Mane no jutsu, he got TenTen to consider forfeiting before he forces the back of her head to meet the wall. Temari was a bit upset that she didn't get to fight until Kaiya whispered in her ear that they could have a go if she's so interested in fighting. Temari backed down after that. No way was she fighting Kaiya, at least not without preparation and a plan.

Temari and the others who won their matches had to listen to another speech and pull numbers from a box. Hinata got one, Kaiya got seven, Gaara got four, Lee got ten, Shikamaru got six, Neji got two, Shino got nine, Sasuke got three, Sakura got five, and Temari got eight. They were then shown the reason why they just picked numbers randomly out of a box. The numbers determined their spot in a tournament style of one on one matches. 'It looks like we don't have much choice but to fight. I'll at least have a month's time to prepare.' Temari thought as she noticed that she would have to fight Kaiya.

After everything was explained they were all dismissed. Everyone left in their own way. Team seven stuck around to see what was up with their sensei and the odd looking man with white hair. They were surprised when Kaiya was the one to perform the introductions while she still had her headband over her eyes. It was funny when they were pulling a number from the box and Kaiya said "Hey big sis, could you pull out a paper for me?" Everyone's reactions were priceless when they saw how Anko acted like a kind big sister. Anko even teased her little sister Kaiya with how she had an image of Kaiya carrying Kakashi bridal style. Sasuke and Sakura ended up regretting their actions when Kaiya informed them that their training was going to increase soon enough.

They just had to wait and see what Kakashi-sensei, Sarutobi, and the other guy had planned. All three figures were approaching the three genin and Kaiya spoke up first. "Greetings Jiraiya-sama, to what do we owe the visit of the legendary Frog-Sannin and famous author of the book our sensei reads?"

"You mean Jiraiya is the author of those books Kakashi-sensei reads?" Sakura asked in disbelief and the start of feminine indignation of such a man being near her.

'He's not the only one.' Kaiya and Sasuke thought. Kaiya turned to look at Sasuke as if she could read his thoughts. Well, look wouldn't be the operative word but it got Sasuke to look guilty in his own way. Kakashi caught this and wondered when Sasuke picked up reading the book. 'Will Sakura some day read it too?'

"You know the odd thing I've noticed is that Jiraiya's book reaches far and wide. In a way, it could be used as a means of spreading information." Kaiya said aloud while in a thinking pose. It was a good thing that they were the only ones to hear that. It might come in handy if something should happen.

"Ah, right but I didn't make the book to do that. How is it you know who I am and can see me with that headband over your eyes?"

"Who says that the headband is impeding my vision?" Kaiya said as she lifted the headband to reveal her eyes which she had the Tamagan active and had it at the advanced level. Kaiya then let her Tamagan return to normal and deactivated the doujutsu. "I was able to see just fine, but I had to keep my eyes covered so as to keep the Tamagan a secret for a little longer."

"Tamagan?" Jiraiya asked.

"It's the name I've decided on calling it. That is unless you honestly think you can come up with a better one Ero-Sannin." Kaiya practically saw Jiraiya twitch in irritation and thought that the Frog-Sannin had a glimmer of remembrance in his eyes.

"She's certainly his daughter alright. Why did you tell me old man?" Jiraiya asked as he looked at Sarutobi.

Sakura would have scolded Jiraiya but Kaiya had motioned her arm in front of Sakura as if to say stop. "If anyone has a right to call uncle Saru an old man, then it's the three Sannin since he was their sensei at one time."

"She actually called you uncle Saru? I've heard of people calling themselves a monkey's uncle but this is rich." Jiraiya laughed for a little bit before he saw Kaiya looking him straight in the eye with obvious anger.

"You got a problem with what I choose to call one of the few people who cared for me when no one else would even consider lifting a finger? You are in no position to tease uncle Saru about what I call him since you probably left me behind like my mother when both of you were told that I was dead. Considering how the village felt about me and that he had no assurances of my survival he did you a favor. There was no telling what might happen so soon after the sealing and so saying that I died would have prevented false hope. To you, my mother, or anyone else I was just some orphan who looked similar to the 4th and brought up painful memories that you couldn't bear to deal with. You just left me behind in uncle Saru's care so don't you dare make fun of him for what I choose to call him!"

Rather than stick around for him to apologize or explain, Kaiya simply disappeared in a flash of light that was tinged blue. It was the Hiraishin to be sure but it wasn't yellow like when the 4th used it. Everyone else stood stock still for a moment at Kaiya's outburst. She had even leaked killing intent that made them all freeze and most of it was just aimed at Jiraiya. Those outside the tower practically shuddered at the cold chill that went up their spines.

"You know, I think that was the first time I've seen Kaiya so upset that she resorted using that despite how she said she wanted to keep it a secret." Sasuke stated while trying to sound as calm as possible. "I certainly wouldn't want to be you right now. If she sees you again anytime soon she might try to use the Sennen Goroshi with the Rasengan."

Jiraiya couldn't retort. Not only did he just get exposed to massive killing intent but he was justifiably chewed out by some one who isn't even a teenager yet. His brain practically shut down when he heard from Sasuke that she knew the Rasengan and he had seen for himself that she performed the Hiraishin. Sure he heard from Sarutobi and Kakashi confirmed it but he still found it hard to believe. Hearing Sasuke flat out say she knows Rasengan and might be willing to use it in combination with the technique that Tsunade herself made and used on him… Well, needless to say the Hiraishin tipped him over the edge. Good thing he had a fan and his old sensei to catch him. 'Ouch.' Or not…

---------

Haku was worried when he heard crying from Kaiya's room. Zabuza was out doing something. 'Probably plans to see if the new issue of his favorite book has been released yet. It's nice that he at least reads them in the privacy of his room now. Reading a mature book in front of some one is rather rude regardless of the age or gender of the person in front of you. I do find it amazing that he never notices how his books always seem to get put back in place whenever he leaves them sit for a long enough time.' Haku carefully tried to listen to see if Kaiya was in and if she is alright before knocking softly.

"Who is it?"

Haku flinched a bit at hearing how Kaiya's voice sounded. 'What could have happened?' "It's me Haku. Are you alright Kaiya?"

"Not really. I just got done chewing out a Sannin for making fun of what I call the Hokage." Kaiya lightly laughed a little bit. "Come in if you like. I'm already feeling better. Besides there's something I'd like to ask you."

Haku walked in carefully since Kaiya crying seemed like a rare thing and Haku wasn't sure what to expect. The sight before him was oddly beautiful. Kaiya's cloak, t-shirt, and ANBU armor were set in the chair in front of Kaiya's desk that had her headband and goggles set on them. This allowed for an unobstructed view of Kaiya's face and the only thing covering her torso was the ANBU sleeveless shirt. Haku could clearly see the modest bumps under the shirt, but wisely made sure to pay attention to Kaiya's face. Besides, he had to deal with the same problem from fools trying to put the moves on him when they mistook him for a girl. Still, Kaiya certainly looked amazing and she was surprisingly well developed for her age.

"Hey…" Kaiya softly smiled before walking to Haku.

"Do you feel like talking about what happened?"

"Long story short, I blew my top and ripped a new one out of the author who writes those books when he made fun of what I call the Hokage." Kaiya guiltily looked away with a blush.

"I suppose you'd be justified to do so but I'm surprised you didn't ask for his autograph first."

Kaiya stifled a laugh. "Yeah, you're right. Oh well, it's too late to worry about that. Besides, there's something I've wanted to do and I'd like to ask you something."

"What's that?"

"This…" Kaiya quickly brought her hands up to Haku's face and kissed him. Haku was shocked at first but relaxed and soon felt her arms around him thus coaxing Haku to do the same. It felt amazing and Kaiya pressing herself into Haku made it feel even greater. There wasn't anything that could ruin this moment.

Thump…Thump…Thump…

On second thought, hearing three people pass out could disturb and ruin a special moment pretty well. Kaiya backed off and had her hands on Haku's waist and Haku had his on hers. Despite the blush on both of them they turned to see who they shocked into la-la land. Zabuza, Kimimaro, and Jiraiya were out cold.

"I understand why Zabuza and Kimimaro are here since I let them stay here but what is Jiraiya doing here?"

"Jiraiya, as in the same author you ripped a new one?"

"Yeah, before we wake him up could I ask you something first?"

"Alright, what do you wish to ask me?"

"Would you hate me if I brought up the subject of a law Konoha made for those who are the last of their clan's bloodline? Specifically, what they allow for those who have a kekkei genkai and are the only one in the village to have it."

Haku at least could that Kaiya was at least worried about this but it didn't sound like something that would endanger him. "What is this law about?"

"Those who have a kekkei genkai and are the only ones in the village to have it are allowed to practice polygamy." Kaiya looked about as guilty as can be when she said that and Haku wondered if there was more to this story. He felt honesty and love from her despite how she seemed to be worried about his disapproval but what could he disapprove of since polygamy means that he'd be the only male in the relationship. 'Wait…'

"There's something you're not telling me isn't there?" Kaiya's nod was the only confirmation he needed. "What is she like?" Kaiya's shocked surprised proved Haku's theory. Kaiya got over her shock soon and smiled while shaking her head softly.

"I should have known you'd figure it out. You were the one to figure out a counter to the Sharingan after all. Anyway, she's kind and doesn't wish to hurt anyone yet she tries to become strong not only for her sake but for those she cares about. She seems more suited for a position in the field of medicine to help people get better and possibly rival Tsunade in ability with enough training. She also learned an interesting jutsu from a Grass ninja who was actually Orochimaru in disguise." Haku looked like he was about to interrupt were it not for the finger Kaiya placed on his lips. "Don't worry he didn't get what he wanted. She however did manage to get a jutsu from him that I'm sure would make things interesting in more ways than one." Kaiya's blush was the only clue Haku needed. "In short, you'd probably like her if you met her in person. It's rather ironic that she's the only shy and kind member of her clan and yet she's treated badly even by some branch family members. However, she is the key to merging the main and branch families together and making the caged bird seal illegal. The Hyuuga clan would no longer be able to have their family members as slaves."

"It sounds like you two put a lot of thought into your plans."

"Yes, we did. At first, when we were still academy students, Hinata and I worked hard to find some way to get rid of the caged bird seal. My stealth and skills allowed us access to vast information and overtime we came to the conclusion of the real problem. Simply removing the seal or rendering it useless wouldn't work since the elders would just order the seal to be put back on or undo the changes. We needed something that would prevent the seal from ever being used again. Sure there may still be documentation of its application and removal since the clan might not be the only ones using the seal, so the information would help. However, we needed the information that would make the seal illegal and we found it. We made sure not to leave any traces of our presence or our efforts and discovery would have been useless. This has been going on for years which caused us to become close as we worked hard to achieve the desired goal. We are so close to reaching it. Hinata merely needs to defeat Neji without the use of the Jyuuken. The training I plan to give her might even allow her to win without even needing her Byakugan either."

"I see… Would you like some help in training her? After all, I would like to meet her face to face and get to know the girl. Besides, if we do get married then it would be nice to see what she's like." The joy on Kaiya's face made Haku happy. Sure their relationship kind of sped up a little quickly and increased in size by one, but it felt nice. The kiss, hug, and Kaiya pressing certain parts of her anatomy against Haku were only a bonus.

"Ahem… As much as I'm sure you're enjoying yourselves. Don't you think there's something else you need to be doing?" Kakashi asked while Sasuke, Sakura, and surprisingly Hinata were standing in front of the doorway. Sasuke was blushing but looking away while Sakura simply looked happy for them and Hinata looked like she was blushing and wanting to join in. Zabuza, Kimimaro, and Jiraiya had woken up as well and were having interesting reactions. Kimimaro seemed envious, Zabuza was trying to comprehend what he's seeing, and Jiraiya was writing.

"Um… Jiraiya, I hope for your sake that you'll make sure Haku, Hinata, and I will be exempt from your book. Hiashi might have a problem with one of his daughters in your books and while Zabuza does read them he treats Haku like an adopted son like Kimimaro. So that means you'll have powerful shinobi upset with you and they aren't even the people you put into your book." Kaiya said with a smile. It's kind of creepy when some one smiles while talking about your premature demise as if stating facts like the weather. "So how much have you heard?"

"Enough to know you told him what I talked with you about after the second exam."

"So that's what you were talking about while you were wearing that face mask?" Hinata nodded to Sakura's question. "I take it you didn't want some one to read your lips but weren't you worried about some one listening in and wouldn't some one with the Byakugan be able to see through the cloth?"

"That's not a problem since I had made sure to have a special seal added my clothes and the facemask that Hinata wears. Basically the seal prevents the Byakugan or something similar from peaking through the material. Good thing I didn't have it put on my headband since I wore my headband over my eyes during the preliminaries. The seal also does something else for me besides provide privacy. As for eavesdroppers, Hinata and I make sure to use our words carefully. The result is that we appear to be having small talk when we are really speaking of important things. I think Shino and Shikamaru are probably the only two who might know what we are talking about but they haven't said anything so hopefully things will work out. So why are you all here anyway?"

Kakashi eye-smiled and said "Training…"

Kaiya's grin just had to spell trouble for those involved. Then again, what do you expect from some one who has been trained by both Gai and Anko?

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The month passed by quickly. Gaara was fortunate that Jiraiya took a look at his seal and improved it. Fortunately for Shukaku, the soul of the crazy priest was finally no longer a problem that kept the sand spirit awake. The tanuki got to eat the blood thirsty jerk and was able to snooze peacefully. Gaara even got a deal out of the sand demon. Shukaku would pay rent in the form of chakra. There were a couple other details involved but Gaara got the better end of the stick. Funny thing though, seems Shukaku was actually a girl that loved to party. The crazy priest just made her idea of a party involve bloodbaths. She may enjoy a good battle once in a while due to being a demon but the priest took things to a whole new level by driving her nuts. Ironic, Shukaku calmed and Akahana was slightly disturbed due to the revelation of Shukaku's gender. Akahana never got around to mentioning why and it was probably better to not push the subject.

The other genin who were going to be fighting in the finals had use the month's time wisely and trained their butts off. They were all lined up and facing the audience. Well, Sasuke was noticeably absent but Kakashi had taken him for some private training on the last week. Kaiya asked them to appear after all of the matches but the one between him and Gaara. That way everyone has a chance at the rank of Chuunin despite how it would seem like Kakashi's habit of being late has infected one of his students.

There was no way they were going to let some war ruin things if they can determine when it will occur. Sakura decided to spend the last week working on a few attack and defense plans. She'd need to have them handy when she goes up against Shikamaru. Hinata worked with Haku on the final week so that they could be sure of victory against Neji. Kaiya pretty much used her kage bunshin in mass to have groups train with Zabuza, Kimimaro, Jiraiya, and even Sarutobi decided to pass a few techniques to Kaiya. In the end only one thing was for sure. This will be one wild event.


	11. Chapter 10

Forgiveness of a Kitsune

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did then there would have been serious changes made to the story.**

Chapter 10

The finals of the Chuunin exam… Ten genin have made their way to this glorious moment to display their skills and hopefully be deemed worthy of becoming Chuunin. One is late but that's understandable. They have waited long for this day and they will not disappoint their audience. It might actually be fun. Thankfully, the Hokage didn't do a lengthy speech like he did during the preliminaries. Jiraiya might have fallen asleep while he was disguised as a jounin assigned as a bodyguard to the Hokage. The nobles probably wouldn't be very happy either what with the Hokage putting them to sleep with his words. Regardless, seven genin made their way up to the competitors' box while two genin remained.

Neji Hyuuga vs. Hinata Hyuuga

Those who knew of the seal on Neji's forehead would have probably thought that the fight would be over before it began. The others would simply expect a battle of two genin only using the Jyuuken with their Byakugan. What no one expected was to see Hinata make a dash for the wall the moment Genma Shiranui signaled the start of the fight. Hayate had other duties to attend to while the matches occurred so he missed out on seeing a Hyuuga doing something rare. Fight without Jyuuken or the Byakugan by using an interesting combination of moves. First, Hinata quickly unrolled a scroll and carefully aimed the output that would target the charging Neji.

Water quickly spewed out and hit Neji causing him use a Kaiten to deflect the water for at least a little while. Unfortunately, the water lasted longer than how long he was able to keep up his rotation. Neji may have been blasted with a strong force of water but he wasn't out of the fight just yet.

"Just what are you trying to do?"

"Neji, I'm trying to show you how blinded you've become by drowning yourself with the concept of fate." Hinata performed the hand seals to create three mizu bunshins which she had them fire off mizudan no jutsu at Neji. While he was distracted by the water bullets fired from the bunshins, Hinata pulled a flash bomb from her pack and threw it into the air. Neji was too busy dealing with being hit by a mizudan that each mizu bunshin performed. The impacts weren't something to sneeze at but they did their job of keeping Neji away and distracted long enough for him to be blinded by the flash bomb. Hinata took this time to have two bunshin dissolve and the other race to Neji before he regained sight. The bunshin went through a quick set of hand seals.

"Suirou no jutsu"

"Now your predicament symbolizes how you've allowed yourself to be imprisoned all because of your beliefs about fate. Do you think it was fate that the prodigy of the branch family just lost to the failure of the main family? The same failure who disliked using the Jyuuken against her own family members after seeing her father kill some one with it when she was but three years old. I may be viewed as too kind to be a true Hyuuga, but I'm getting tired of your crap as well as the idea of the Hyuuga family making their family members into slaves. I have no desire to let that happen to my sister and will gladly bear the cage bird seal if I do not become clan head soon enough to have the seal removed and banned from ever being used again." Hinata's words were punctuated with a punch to the solar plexus that had no chakra to it. Then again, it's not like the punch needed any chakra. The water may have slowed it and cushioned Neji but he still felt the blow. "Will you please forfeit?" Hinata said it loud enough for Genma to hear and he waited for Neji to respond before calling the match.

Neji was surprised to see how Hinata's arm looked. The one she used to punch him with was clearly wrapped in bandages and the force of the impact had to be the result of harsh training. The punch disrupted his ability to breathe and if he didn't act soon he'd drown. 'To think a member of the main family defeated some one from the branch family without even using the Jyuuken or the Byakugan…' While Neji nodded as if to concede he realized something. 'She could have used the seal against me at any time yet she did all of this instead. You are truly amazing Hinata.'

"Winner Hinata Hyuuga"

Neji was released and Hinata caught him before his landed face first into the knee deep water that had filled the arena. The audience was cheering loudly and those who knew of the Jyuuken were impressed by how she defeated it. Hinata simply exploited one of the more obvious flaws in the style. The thing that most didn't see was that while the flash bomb went off, Hinata sent out a pulse of chakra while her remaining bunshin raced to Neji. This blinded him to the bunshin's approach and since he isn't use to using his ears to tell the positioning of an enemy he was imprisoned before he could react. Her tactics were impressive.

Hiashi Hyuuga had smiled. This confused Hanabi but then again she couldn't read his mind but she got the feeling that his smile was a good thing. 'You needn't worry about the Cage Bird Seal anymore Hinata. I am sorry that it was I who made the Jyuuken seem so bad to you and for pushing you without realizing what was wrong. I may need to have a talk with you about language later but that'll be after I deal with the old farts. They certainly aren't going to enjoy this but I will. For now…' Hiashi had to visit some one.

---------

After the match Neji was taken to the medical facilities to rest and recuperate. For the most part he was fine enough to leave and watch the other matches after a bit of rest. His rest however, was disturbed by none other than Hiashi who gave him a scroll containing the last words of Neji's father Hizashi. It was an interesting surprise to read it and a rare sight to see Hiashi bowing to him. When Hiashi left, Neji had a shocked look on his face and he appeared to be imitating a gold fish. Seems Hinata got her wish and didn't even need to become clan head. 'I wonder… Hinata-sama, did you plan for this to happen?'

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The arena was cleared of the water before the next match which should have been between Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara of the desert. However, Sasuke was late, so they postponed the match at the request of the Kazekage. The Hokage and a disguised Jiraiya could smell what the Kazekage, ahem; Orochimaru was shoveling when he tried to explain the reason for postponing the match.

Regardless, the match between Sakura and Shikamaru was next and Sakura wasn't about to miss out on her shot. She simply grabbed him and used her water shunshin to appear in the arena. Shikamaru made a comment that sounded like troublesome women but was luckily out of reach.

"Nice shunshin… You're not going to flood the arena are you?" Genma asked while looking as if he might bolt the moment he started the match.

"Not really but I wouldn't want to be in the area just in case."

"Got it; Thanks."

When the match began, Sakura charged forward while using a peculiar hand seal. Fortunately for her, she performed the jutsu before Shikamaru's shadow hit her.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu"

Two bunshins on either side of Sakura came into existence and continued the charge. Shikamaru's surprise kept him busy long enough for him to only catch two of the four bunshins and the two that hit him hit hard. They were side by side and their fists were the same way when they met his gut. Shikamaru was thrown back a quite a bit, but he was still in the fight. Sakura was disappointed but decided to indulge Shikamaru's curiosity.

"Looks like my plan didn't have the desired effect of knocking you out of this fight. I only managed to learn that jutsu during the month we had to prepare when I watched some one practice the hand seals. I figured that with enough training I could make enough to catch you off guard and hit you while you were surprised and hopefully bypass the problem of how intelligent you are. Now I have to fall back on another plan I had in mind."

"Oh yeah and what's that?" 'She's right though, if she used that technique on me again I would have stretched my shadow to the others before they could reach me. Still, Sakura deserves some credit for pulling that off. Troublesome.'

"This…" Sakura's voice called out from beneath him as Sakura grabbed him and he soon found himself in the earth up to his neck. "Doton Shinjuu Zanshuu no Jutsu" Sakura looked smugly at Shikamaru while her kunai in her hair was aimed at his neck. Most observing the fight would notice that the only thing holding her kunai was her hair. They didn't see how she was using her chakra to control her hair and by proxy the kunai. However, they did see the odd shadow connecting her to the hole Shikamaru was in.

"Kage Mane no Jutsu success"

Sakura raised her eyebrow at this. "So does this equal a draw?" She could still move her hair and the kunai in it but she wasn't about to prove her point that she can still do something. Sakura may be good but her finesse with how she wields her hair still needs work.

"I guess so…"

The audience may not have been happy when Genma called the match a draw but there wasn't much that they could do about it. The judges however had a different opinion. The two fighters were obviously intelligent and had good tactics. Also, if what Sakura said was true, then they might just have some good choices for Chuunin. The audience however, was getting impatient with the fact that the fight they wanted to see was delayed until after the other matches. If the match between Sakura and Shikamaru was any sort of preview how the others might be, then their restlessness would be understandable. The names of the next fighters did shut up their disappointment and caused a few curious murmurs.

Kaiya Namikaze and Temari

Before the fight began, Temari and Kaiya had exchanged words. "You're certainly popular right now."

"They're just curious about the name that the Hokage gave me. It's hardly a big deal." Kaiya said in manner that said she might as well be talking about the weather.

"The way I heard it that name belonged the 4th Hokage." Temari verbally pushed.

"Really, that's interesting." Kaiya deflected with disinterest.

"It's odd on how you don't seem all that happy about sharing the same last name as the 4th Hokage."

"I may respect that he put his life on the line to protect the village but I cannot forgive him for his choices in how he protected the village. They say that the reason for what happened that night is unknown. That it was merely the whim of a bloodthirsty beast. What no one knows is that we provoked it when some fool sent highly skilled ninja to kill its mate and children. The leaf village symbol was on the corpses that were left behind and the beast sought revenge. The 4th Hokage probably knew who was responsible but he didn't take action. Instead he simply performed something that practically condemned his son to the life of a potential weapon. Thankfully a wise old man kept the boy safe from such a fate. This village however, vented their grief and rage on the boy despite how his father and his son keep them safe from the beast. To think, the only reason why the Yellow Flash actually risked his life to save this village is because it became his home that he viewed as worthy of protection. He'd be sorely disappointed to see how his home became hell for his son." Kaiya looked rather sad and her words had the desired effect on the audience. She had opened their eyes. "Anyway, there's been enough talking and I believe we have a match to start."

Temari smiled. "I'm ready when you are."

"Good…" Kaiya's smile made Genma think to get out of the area after he started the match.

"Begin." Genma performed the shunshin right afterwards and it was a good thing too. Kaiya had jumped back to increase the distance between her and Temari while Temari pulled out her fan as Kaiya performed a jutsu.

"Ninpou: Kamaitachi"

"Suiton: Suijinheki"

It was an impressive sight seeing Kaiya spit out the water that produced the defensive wall that fortunately diminished the effectiveness of Temari's attack. When the two jutsus ended, they left behind occasional spots of water everywhere and a calm Kaiya in the middle of it all. "Nice attack, but you do realize that you won't be able to perform it when you don't have your fan. I however…" Kaiya raised her hand and looked as if she was about to swipe at something with her claws even though her hand didn't have any visible claws to speak of. However, she did surprise everyone including Temari with what she did.

"Ninpou: Kamaitachi"

Blades of wind made their way to Temari who used her fan as a shield to protect herself from the attack. This blinded her to what Kaiya did next. Temari only had a second to realize that Kaiya had thrown a kunai which landed a little behind and to her side. Confusion was soon cleared at the flash of blue tinged light. Kaiya was soon behind Temari with Kaiya's left hand holding her right arm and Kaiya's right hand held something near her neck. 'A feather…?' At least that's what she thought until looked like it was transforming into a kunai. "Sometimes things are not what they appear to be." The kunai then dissipated to reveal the feather and Kaiya did something funny. "Ninpou: Tickle Torture" Kaiya's chakra manipulated the feather into tickling Temari's neck that slowly got her laughing until she gave up.

Kaiya's last attack served as ice breaker to the dramatic but quick end of the match. The use of the Hiraishin surprised them. Kaiya looking as if she might kill Temari brought mixed reactions. They were at the edge of their seats when she said Ninpou only to be thankful they were in their seats when she finished the name of the jutsu. Even Gaara had found it funny with his stoic face forming a small smile and Temari couldn't feel upset for losing. Kankuro just wasn't sure how to react and Baki seemed normal. Well, as normal as he can get after the trick he had to pull with the orders that the Sand village got from their Kazekage, hebi-teme, about the invasion. Fortunately, the plan will save the lives of many sand ninja.

He had to carefully make it seem like the Kazekage authorized the idea for all sand ninja to pull out the moment the attack started. If any sound ninja got in their way then they were to kill them. Gaara would stay behind and deal with the sound village's forces at the arena. Essentially, they would make it seem like the sand village is helping the leaf village so that they could reap the benefits that would come from the leaf village's gratitude. They would also be able to barter for a portion of what the leaf village would probably get from Otogakure after this is over. It was convincing enough that all of them were fooled. Baki had rather mixed feelings about that. If some one else were able to fool the ninja of Sunagakure and have malignant intent, then the village might be destroyed as a result. He thought carefully as the next fight got started.

Shino Aburame vs. Rock Lee

The audience at first had started to throw things and the previous fighters hadn't even left the arena yet. Kaiya apparently discovered the Big Head no Jutsu because she used it to yell at everyone in a manner similar to how Iruka yelled at his students to sit down and be quiet. She practically made her head appear three times bigger than Iruka's largest attempt. The audience settled down and the next fight was soon underway when Shino and Lee got the okay from Genma.

When the fight started, Shino found himself pushed to the limits with trying to defend against Lee's attacks and come up with counter attacks or means of getting away long enough to make his own attacks. Even though Lee lacked the ability to use chakra there was still chakra in his body and Shino had his bugs drain that chakra during the entire fight. Lee's reaction to the drain was merely small signs of exhaustion as he put up a good fight. However, once Lee had enough time to remove his weights he was able to end things quickly without resorting to using the lotus or as Kaiya likes to call it sometimes, the spiraling nosedive of doom. It is a rather apt name since it spells doom for even the practitioner due to how it renders them unable to fight back if their target survives or has friends. In a one on one fight like these it would be unlikely that his opponent would have friends but the Inuzuka and Aburame proved to him otherwise and Kaiya's words certainly kept him from making a mistake and ending the life of a comrade or his own life as a ninja. He won the fight but they were both winners in their own way. There was only one fight left. Now if only Sasuke and Kakashi would get their butts over into the arena then the match can get started.

Those in the competitors' box decided to join the audience in the stands while Kaiya decided to do something funny.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Genma asked while Gaara simply looked at Kaiya as if to ask the same question.

"I'm just planning to perform the call that will get two late people to show up. Well, one of them will probably show up out of thin air while carrying the other." Kaiya smiled mischievously. She then cupped her hands around her mouth and focused some chakra to enhance the volume of her voice. "FREE P…" Kakashi's hand suddenly covered her mouth.

"You didn't really need to do that." Kakashi sweated nervously. 'Honestly, I already get ridiculed for reading that. I don't need everyone upset with me because they think that I influenced my students.'

"Well it did get you and Sasuke to come quickly."

"Yeah, but that was rather below the belt you know."

"Hmph, for all you know I could have said pocky instead. Anyway, the two of you are here now so I think Kakashi and I can go up to the stands to watch the fight. The competitors' box isn't that great of a view for some reason." Kaiya said as she walked to the nearest wall and walked up it to meet everyone else.

---------

Everyone but Kaiya paid attention to the fight going on. She was doing something more important. Last minute preparations were being made and she needed to be careful to not raise suspicion at the wrong time. After all, she was given some ideas of what Orochimaru was capable of thanks to Sarutobi who didn't act like Anko the moment he realized that he needed to stop his former student. Actually, he probably thought that by telling Kaiya he'd be able to persuade her into not confronting Orochimaru. Too bad he forgot how stubborn she can be sometimes.

There was no way she'd miss out on this after all the effort she took to prepare for the event. Besides, it's not like she's stupid enough to think she could handle him all by herself. Sarutobi's information is based on old data and who knows what the Snake-Sannin has picked up since then and there's the fact he might not be fighting alone. It may sound foolishly childish but she wasn't about to let them go it alone. Their bodies were old and Orochimaru's was not. 'Maybe I should have tried to cut an arm off when I had my bunshin handle him.'

Dark thoughts aside Kaiya had a job to do and an opportunity to exploit. During the fights that Kaiya had no part in, she noticed the absence of a certain person. With a possible war on the horizon it is understandable but the thing is he shouldn't know of it. After all, Sarutobi was pretty tight lipped about the plans involved and security was of the highest order. So Danzo should have been here along with the teammates of the Sandaime. Over the years, Kaiya had been keeping an eye on Danzo, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatne. She could only describe all three people in one word, troublesome. Sure they have wisdom, experience, and possible knowledge of some really cool things like Kabuto.

However, Akahana is able to take all of that away from them like how she did with Kabuto. The method is simple; Kaiya merely needs to cast Tsukuyomi on a person. It was sort of an accidental discovery that Kaiya made on the trip back from Nami no Kuni. She had met with Itachi after she left several kage bunshin with her team. Itachi was able to teach her how to perform the Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi. When she was told to practice casting Tsukuyomi on him she was a little apprehensive but was convinced to try. Itachi simply used Kaiya's weakness against her, an assorted collection of Samehade-sized Popsicles in her favorite flavors. All of them were sealed inside a scroll. The bribe and seeing Kisame look at his sword awkwardly was enough for Kaiya to get over her apprehension.

When she did it, Itachi noticed that the place seemed similar enough to when he casts Tsukuyomi aside from the red being purple but he figured that was because of the purple iris that the Tamagan has. It kind of made things seem creepier than when he performs the Tsukuyomi. Itachi did have Kaiya try to inflict pain on him to see if things were any different. It worked. After Kaiya stopped using Tsukuyomi, Akahana asked Kaiya to mention a detail about a member of Akatsuki. Itachi actually looked shocked. Apparently, when the Tamagan casts Tsukuyomi it forms a connection that lets some one like Kaiya to steal or rather copy memories, but thankfully the damage inflicted while in Tsukuyomi did not show up in reality. Also Akahana is the one that's actually doing the copying while Kaiya uses the jutsu. It took a little testing with Kisame to be sure. Basically, Akahana gets metaphorically transformed into a librarian that goes over various scrolls in some one's head and copies them. The copies get stored in her personal library that only Akahana and Kaiya are allowed to look through. It's cheap but at least the knowledge of an enemy, like Kabuto, gets put to good use. Soon enough though, the knowledge of three other people will join Kabuto's knowledge.

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'Lady Luck must be smiling on me.' The Kaiya bunshin thought as she found the three annoyances all together enjoying tea as they talked about what was to come. 'Their arrogance is appalling. They probably can sense me but hardly view me as a threat. Then again it's not like I want them to know what will happen to them. I just hope the others will complete their missions before the invasion. Now I just need to get their attention.'

"Yip…"

Three heads turned to face the noise and saw a white fox with the most unusual eyes and a unique color that had a small scroll dangling from it. That was the last thing they saw in the world of the awake and alive. Using the mental connection between the real Kaiya and the bunshin performing the jutsu, Akahana was able to copy the memories quickly and inform Kaiya when she was finished. Before the bunshin left, she slipped out of the collar and transformed into a humanoid figure that any observer would have a hard time identifying. The figure simply looked like some one that was dressed in a black version of Gai's green spandex and it covered the hands, feet, and head. It looked more like a shadow given human form.

The bunshin took the scroll and unrolled it to unseal a vial that contained a particular poison. The poison was dropped into their tea cups and the teakettle. The bunshin then performed a jutsu that would have implicated the Nara clan had some one seen it happen. 'I must apologize, Shikamaru, but your clan jutsu is needed at this time.' This allowed the bunshin to force the three comatose bodies to drink the poison. It was rather scary to learn how much control she had over their voluntary actions when she got them to swallow. 'They probably wouldn't have done the same if they were conscious, yet despite how wrong killing them like this is they would have probably done something similar down the road. Their delusion of what's best for Konoha has forced this upon them. It's rather amazing how they handled the treatment that Kaiya went through as Naruto Uzumaki. Simply run the three of them through the memories and they slowly crumble. Akahana certainly made a good torture choice. Still, I wonder what she found among the copied memories before the torture began. Perhaps it's best to wait until she's ready to talk. For now I simply need to dispose of the scroll and the poison inside.'

With that thought, the bunshin transformed back into the white fox and left the area. The three bodies would be discovered later by Sound ninja who were lucky to survive long enough to reach and search the area. The direct blame would be placed on them and indirect would be aimed at Orochimaru. Danzo, Homura, and Koharu would be suspected of treason due to how they died and the information that was discovered at each of their homes. Danzo's home would also reveal information that would further stain his name in dishonor. In the end, the three elders would be lucky to at least get a funeral. 'A little loss of blood is a small price to pay for purging poison. One just has to make sure to lose as little blood as possible in the process.'

---------

Kaiya was soon alerted of her bunshins' missions being completed. Since one bunshin had found all three targets in one place she dispelled the other two and had the other four maintain their positions until things heated up. It's too bad that she won't be able to thank Danzo for providing her inspiration to make her stealth and evasion skills shoot through the roof. She had been able to make herself into a metaphorical ghost thanks to him and his ideals. Kaiya had no desire to be some mere tool to be used and discarded. She had already pulled Haku and Kimimaro from such a life and it wasn't easy at first. Kaiya was just grateful that Zabuza had taken Kimimaro with him. Haku and Kimimaro may have been tools to Zabuza at first but they must have grown on him as they began to treat each other like brothers. 'All they needed was a kunoichi and it would seem like some loosely related family.' Kaiya's rather humorous thought was interrupted by a smoke bomb going off up in the Kage's box. Kaiya made sure to check to see if the others were okay and dispelled the genjutsu before it caused her to fall asleep. She made her way to the roof and stopped a foolish ANBU from hitting the barrier.

"What are you doing?" The ANBU Captain yelled.

"I simply stopped him from bursting into flames like this." Kaiya pulled out a kunai and threw it to the barrier. The kunai didn't survive and the poor ANBU who would have been roasted was rather grateful that Kaiya saved him.

"Thank you."

"You can thank me later. Right now I have to help the Hokage and Jiraiya." 'Thankfully those snake summons were the responsibility of the Sand ninja and they should have cleared out and took with them the means of performing the summoning.'

"How do you plan to do that when you just showed us what would happen when something touches the barrier?"

"Like this…" Kaiya shouted as she molded her chakra to form the Rasengan and used the jutsu to punch a hole into the barrier. Unfortunately the hole closed quickly behind her so the ANBU weren't able to follow her. 'I know that I could simply activate the tags that I had "them" place when those four formed the barrier but at least this way Orochimaru isn't going to be going anywhere.'

"Please keep the Hokage and Jiraiya safe but do be careful." The ANBU Captain said solemnly.

"No problem." Kaiya then made her way to the Hokage.

"Why are you here Kaiya?" Sarutobi asked with obvious disapproval.

"I know this sounds stupid of me but there's no way I letting you two fight him yourselves. Besides, the key to success is teamwork and usually you need three members to form a team right?"

"Let's give her a chance sensei. She might surprise us and Orochimaru."

"One more of you won't matter in this fight. I'll still win."

"Brave talk from the spoiled brat who went and switched out his old body and male gender for a young and female body. Personally I'm still curious about why you're doing this and I don't think it was just because you're having a temper tantrum from not getting what you wanted Orochi-chan or should I call you Ms. Fruity?"

This caused Sarutobi and Jiraiya to snicker while Orochimaru was obviously upset. Though no one but Kaiya noticed Orochimaru's subordinates were amused with her words. Jiraiya ended up explaining Orochimaru's views about how he enjoys conflict and views peace as just some windmill not turning.

"You think Orochi-chan and Danzo have something going on? I mean Danzo always did seem to enjoy war a lot."

That did make those within earshot think about such a thing and it wasn't pleasant. Kaiya's comments did have the desired effect of upsetting Orochimaru. It was obvious she was trying to make him in the right mood to make mistakes and her plan was certainly working. Either way though they had a fight on their hands and the first to make a move were Orochimaru and Sarutobi. Orochimaru aimed his attack at Kaiya but Sarutobi blocked the incoming snake tongue. The snake bit mud and Orochimaru was soon on the defensive when Sarutobi threw a shuriken that became many. Orochimaru's defense was to apparently raise coffins and before Sarutobi could begin to perform hand seals to counter the last coffin he found Kaiya's hand resting on his.

"Did you forget what he did when he died? His soul will not be there. I just pray that the sacrifice will live since the jutsu would fail to bring back the intended target."

Sarutobi conceded and hoped that Kaiya was right about what she said. If not then things would certainly seem hopeless. However, Kaiya was right. The coffin's covering fell to reveal the sacrifice was still alive. Kin Tsuchi would get to live and Kaiya made sure to pull her away before Orochimaru took action. Kin was soon handed to Jiraiya for her protection. The Shodaime and Nidaime were not exactly happy with being summoned. However, the Nidaime did raise an eyebrow when he saw Kaiya pull out the Raijin Sword and form a white with blue tinge kodachi blade. Orochimaru slipped the special tagged kunai into the back of their heads and he noted Kaiya's weapon with interest.

"Uncle Saru, if you can then aim for the head since that's the best shot at getting them out of this fight. Anything else and they'll probably just regenerate."

"Very well…" Sarutobi performed a few hand seals with Kaiya mimicking him.

"Katon: Karyuu Endan"

Twin blasts of fire shot forward and combined their power. The Nidaime simply performed Suiton: Suijinheki, the same jutsu that Kaiya used to defend herself from Temari's attack and followed up with his own attack.

"Suiton: Suishouha"

"Doton Doryuuheki" Sarutobi spit out mud that became a solid wall. Jiraiya had made sure to move to the upper level of the roof to keep Kin and himself from drowning. Kaiya simply followed Sarutobi and went around the wall to spot what was happening. The Shodaime rushed forward on the water's surface and Sarutobi pelted him with fire blasts. Before the Shodaime could get a physical blow in on Sarutobi, Kaiya redirected his opening blow and made her fist meet his face. Not only did her punch happen to be enhanced by the technique Tsunade uses but she fired off a blast of chakra to hopefully destroy the seal tag inside his head. Whether or not that worked was rendered a moot point when she shoved in the Raijin Sword from the side with the hand she used to redirect his first blow. Kaiya didn't have enough time to gloat over the Shodaime dissolving as the Nidaime tried to drown Sarutobi who was fortunate enough to get away. Kaiya had to put away her sword since it'd only cause problems for everyone involved. Instead she pulled out four pieces of paper. Orochimaru actually laughed a little.

"Do you honestly think that explosive tags would have any effect? You said it yourself that they'd just regenerate unless the seal tags are destroyed." Orochimaru pointed out with a sneer despite how he was upset that Kaiya took down the Shodaime with what appeared to be slight of hand to him at least.

"Who said that they were explosive tags?" Kaiya asked as she quickly raced to apply them to the Nidaime who was occupied by Sarutobi and Jiraiya. She was able to slip one on each limb and activated them. Next thing the Nidaime knew was that he suddenly had a lot more weight pressing down on him.

"Gravity seal tags? Not a bad idea. Good thinking, Kaiya." Jiraiya complimented as he formed a Rasengan to hit the head of the Nidaime. It may have been callous to deal with the two in such a manner but at least Sarutobi didn't end up condemning them to the bowl of the Shinigami. Now the only opponent that remained was Orochimaru who was furious and drew out the Kusanagi.

"I'll make you pay for this." Orochimaru made as if to strike Kaiya but instead of hitting flesh he was blocked by a blade. It seemed like a mere tanto with an unusually colored blade. Both were night black but the blade had a tinge of violet and something seemed odd. Orochimaru's contemplation ended when he tried to strike Kaiya again only to realize something. Kaiya wasn't wearing her weights and could probably use her chakra to go even faster. The tanto also had the option of becoming two blades and with a quick enhancement from her chakra; Kaiya had her two blades pierce Orochimaru in the shoulders. His arms were rendered useless and Kaiya quickly picked up his sword and pierced his heart with it.

"The only thing you'll be doing now is going to hell. The mess you left behind will need to be cleaned up but hopefully that's fixable. The only thing that would fix you is your death." Kaiya stated coldly enough that mist seemed to form from her mouth. Kaiya even resorted to torturing Orochimaru with Tsukuyomi for as long as possible with what little time the Snake-Sannin had left in the land of the living. "Now as for the four of you I have but one thing to say. Good night and sweet dreams." Kaiya performed a hand seal as she said that and the Sound four noticed a tag was under each of them and the tags released a smoke that rendered them unconscious. The barrier was lowered and Sarutobi checked to make sure that his former student was dead.

He needn't have bothered. The fact that she used the Kusanagi to pierce Orochimaru's heart assured Orochimaru's end. They did have to deal with cleaning up the mess that the Snake-Sannin left behind but he'd probably leave that up to the next Hokage. Tsunade sounds like a nice choice. Now what should he do with the sword? Obviously letting it sit around and collect dust wasn't much of an option and some one did manage to show an aptitude in using a blade. Her strength would certainly keep the thing safe and from falling into the wrong hands. 'Eh, why not… I'll just be sure to wait until later to give it to her when I give her the bounty on Orochimaru's head.' Sarutobi simply had Jiraiya seal the sword into a scroll for now as he used a fire jutsu on the body after removing the head. Sarutobi and Jiraiya got a good look at hebi-teme-hime. The disappointment was palatable and Jiraiya was certainly going to be making rather interesting character additions to his book. For now, the village needs to pick up the pieces and hopefully send out ninja to get Tsunade to become Hokage. It certainly won't be easy to get her to come back.


	12. Chapter 11

Forgiveness of a Kitsune

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did then there would have been serious changes made to the story.**

Chapter 11

After the so called war, everyone worked to pick up the pieces and rebuild. It was a rather interesting surprise that there weren't really any casualties of Leaf or Sand ninja. The sound ninja were wiped out though. It seems Otogakure focused more on quantity than quality. The sound four and Kin Tsuchi were imprisoned for the time being. Their leader may be dead but they could provide useful information that might help in the future. Speaking of information, the three elders had certain documents in their homes that did not paint a good picture for them. It made giving them a funeral in Konoha impossible.

Certain documents that were found in Danzo's home implicated him as responsible for the Kyuubi's attack and if he was buried then the villagers might dig him back up just to beat his corpse. They were of the proper age and said the same thing Kaiya mentioned at the finals. It did raise a few eyebrows but they didn't dig very deep when Kaiya said that she had merely tried to see what information Danzo had on her. Considering his reputation she didn't wish to become a mere weapon in his game of war. It was bad enough knowing that he'd try to convince the council into making her a breeder and thus end her career as a kunoichi as well as ruin her chance of becoming Hokage.

A foolish civilian council member had actually proven her point by appearing to consider the idea of marrying her off to some one and they'd get more people who'd possess the Tamagan. Whoever his suggestion would have been was a moot point when Kaiya directed her killing intent at him. She made her point clear that should the council even try to butt in on present and future family matters then she will make the council regret its actions. They may be ninjas who live in a ninja village but they are also people with families and those foolish enough to threaten Kaiya's family will pay.

Thankfully, those council members who belonged to a clan were on Kaiya's side since they understood the importance of family. The council was not set up for determining who marries who and when some one has children. It was bad enough that the civilians kept trying to dictate ninja affairs but trying to force one of their most powerful kunoichi to have kids at the cost of ruining her career was going too far. Odd part was that the other council members backed off though it probably had something to do with how she was already seeing some one. It was either that or the fact that she killed a Sannin and the Hokage entrusted her with the Kusanagi Sword. Regardless, Kaiya had other things to deal with.

First was joining Hinata, Sakura, Shikamaru, Shino, Lee, and even Sasuke in getting their Chuunin vests. It was suspected that Lee will get stuck with low risk stuff until after Tsunade is found and fixes his chakra problem. Kaiya wasn't sure why Shikamaru and Sasuke got a vest but she wasn't complaining since Shikamaru seemed like a good choice and she wasn't really paying attention to Sasuke's fight to see what the judges saw. She'd probably need to give the appropriate kicks to the proper rears to have the newly made Chuunins understand a few things about being Chuunin. No way was she going to let them handle things lightly at the risk of their teammates' lives especially when one member of their team might be Haku. Zabuza and Kimimaro were made Jounin and Tokubetsu Jounin respectively. Haku didn't mind being Chuunin considering the circumstances. Either way it was amazing at how quickly the genin were promoted. Kaiya suspected that he wanted to get it out of the way before she left with Jiraiya. She still wondered why she was the only one going with the pervert of a Sannin but was sort of grateful that Haku and Hinata would handle explaining things to Hiashi.

Kaiya may be amazing in battle but there are some things where she is simply out of her league. Despite that problem, Kaiya stood at the gate ready to go when Jiraiya showed up. The chuunin vest she wore over the t-shirt was the only difference to her normal attire. It practically acted as her backpack since it could carry up to six scrolls and Kaiya mainly used her scrolls to store stuff. An actual backpack would only get in the way and be too troublesome to deal with since an enemy could use it against her by simply grabbing the backpack while she's wearing it. Arrogant it may be to think so but Kaiya could handle things without needing to resort to pulling something from a backpack. For now Kaiya simply closed up her cloak and waited for the self proclaimed super pervert to arrive.

"I thought I told you to pack and prepare for a long journey. Finding Tsunade is going to take a lot longer than a few days or so."

"I'm always ready for a long journey Jiraiya. I merely use scrolls to contain my things instead of some troublesome backpack that would only get in the way due to its bulk. It's easier to be ready to move at a moment's notice that way." Kaiya stated as if she were talking about the weather. "Anyway it's nice to know you trust me enough to inform me of our actual mission instead of simply telling me something vague about what we're doing. I don't appreciate information being given in the form of bread crumbs that would be laid down as we go along unless we were on a scavenger hunt or there is a very good reason for leading your comrades along. Disinformation is all well and good but it only works when you give it to a loud mouth that would spill the beans at a moment's notice."

"Uh… Right, we better get moving since the sooner we can get Tsunade the sooner we can have her return and become Hokage." Jiraiya started walking.

"Among other things…" Kaiya soon followed while leaving behind a kage bunshin in case there were any emergency messages this early in their journey. The two of them set out to find the Legendary Slug-Sannin who is also known as the Legendary Sucker. They didn't notice the arrival of two figures entering the village.

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Their first stop wasn't really all that impressive and Kaiya was really disappointed with Jiraiya. He practically fell for the pretty lady distraction. If the Sannin was simply deceiving the ones who wanted him distracted then he certainly hid his plan well enough to appear genuinely fooled. 'It's either that or he really is a fool who just happens to be a pervert and is probably only reliable in combat situations. However, that remains to be seen. I just hope the distraction was set up by him and not some one else.' Kaiya thought with disapproval as she made her way to their hotel room. Once there she began to prepare for the arrival of her "guests" that would come soon. Kaiya just wished that she was closer to a certain object that Orochimaru possessed. In that way she'd be able to pull off an interesting disguise. She was a little put off when she noticed that Orochimaru's memories didn't have anything on the Uchiha massacre. It was a given that if he wanted the Sharingan he wouldn't be stupid enough to kill them off. However, some one was responsible for what happened that night and it wasn't her big brother Itachi since he was with her reporting information to the old man. Danzo didn't have any knowledge either. The only result that made sense was a certain Uchiha who was believed to be dead. Dealing with the members not on Itachi's side will certainly be a pain.

The religious immortal, zombie, plant, living paper, pin cushion, and masked Uchiha. The entire lot of them is at least S-rank and Orochimaru was the weakest among them. Hopefully, at least two of them will become turncoats and be on Itachi's side. The pin cushion sounds like the biggest threat and the most difficult to kill since he's the leader. His plan of gathering the power of the nine demons makes him a threat to her and the other eight. If he can be eliminated then the Akatsuki simply needs a new leader with a better goal in mind. Besides, Kaiya and Akahana didn't think that the Akatsuki leader was gathering that much power for the simple goal of running every ninja village out of business. Regardless, Kaiya had other matters to worry about. First was how she planned to greet her "guests" when they show up since she had an idea on what to do about putting a wrench in the leader's plan for gather power.

Sometimes Kaiya could be rather cruel. All she needed to do was use the shape-shifting ability she gained from becoming Akahana's heir and transform into a person that has traits that Kisame and Itachi find desirable. A little realism mixed in with their fantasies and she was good to go for when they showed up. 'Funny, I didn't think they shared similar interests in women.' It was a simple matter of creating thin mist that would give the room enough of an allure that would probably aid in giving even Jiraiya a severe case of blood loss through the nose. 'Now the two simply need to get here and I can switch their rings while giving them enough of an excuse so that they didn't have to lie to the leader about how it happened. The bunshin may have reported seeing them in Konoha but who's to say whether another team isn't looking for me. Thankfully, the bunshin kept Itachi from using Tsukuyomi on Kakashi. It would have been a pointless waste of time and chakra. Sasuke would have probably been alerted and without Kakashi to keep him in line things will be difficult. Troublesome…'

It didn't take long for Kaiya to here knocking on the door and she quickly used her Tamagan to see who was on the other side. It was Itachi and Kisame. Kaiya had to quickly compose herself before opening the door. She'd only get one shot at this and had to make it count. Needless to say she surprised the two of them when she opened the door and in mere seconds they were on the ground unconscious. Kaiya looked down. "Oops…" 'Perhaps I went a little overboard… nah.'

Kaiya quickly switched the rings with fakes that were pretty close to the real deal. It'd be awhile before anyone notices anything. She had to quickly change back and slip into the hotel room when she heard the sound of footsteps. The person was practically running to her location and Kaiya figured it was probably Sasuke. She quickly threw a pillow at the S-rank missing-nins and it hit them in their faces. They woke up before Sasuke reached them.

"Itachi!"

Kaiya simply ignored the brotherly dispute and took her time getting her clothes back on. She did however hear Kisame talk as Sasuke and Itachi had their spat.

"That was cruel you know."

"Perhaps but it is a rather inopportune time to be showing up. Just so you know, Orochimaru is dead and I plan to retrieve his ring. Akahana has his memories and it seems he didn't kill the clan either. Not that I'm surprised since he wants the Sharingan and a whole clan of Sharingan wielders would have made things easy for him. After the massacre his only options were Itachi and Sasuke but he didn't get either of them and I killed him. Not much of an accomplishment when you consider the fact he was the weakest member in Akatsuki. So, anything new happen since the last time we had a talk?"

"Not really, we did get Origami and Bonsai but the other three won't help."

"How'd you manage Origami? Bonsai I can probably understand but Origami is certainly a surprise."

"She's not exactly interested in what the leader has planned and with her being the closest to him she could deliver a present for you."

Kaiya threw him a small scroll. "That contains an enhanced version of what I swiped of Snake's blade. I'd recommend that you be extremely careful with it. That cocktail could probably kill Priest if you use it on him. Good luck Shark. I hope you and Raven are successful in at least eliminating the leader. Priest, Greed, and Mask would probably become problems afterwards but hopefully they'll just turn out to be annoyances. Mask might be more than he seems though and he could be responsible for the massacre. For now, it's best if you can get out of here without getting your butts kicked by Jiraiya. I'd rather not see the two of you lose your heads if you get my drift."

"Right…" Before Kisame could say anymore, Sasuke started screaming and Kaiya shared a look with Kisame that soon had them engaging in combat in the hallway. When it looked like Kisame was about to perform a downward strike a toad with armor showed up in front of Kaiya and Jiraiya made a fool of himself with his entry speech. Kaiya really started to wonder about the Sannin and his reputation as far as what might be reality or simple exaggerations for the sake of making those who lose to him feel better. She was rather impressed with his technique of coating the hallway with what he said was the stomach of some large toad. Itachi and Kisame made a break for it and Itachi silently thanked Kaiya for helping him conserve chakra earlier as he punched a hole through a wall with Amaterasu. As Jiraiya sealed the black flames into a scroll, Kaiya checked up on Sasuke.

"Well it looks like Sasuke is out cold. If I had to guess I'd say this was caused by Tsukuyomi."

"Just how is it you know about that and how come I had to seal black flames rather similar to the same ones you used on Kabuto?"

"The Tamagan does share abilities with that of the Sharingan and the Byakugan. So it should not come as a surprise that the Tamagan can do what the Mangekyou Sharingan can do. However, while I could probably use Tsukuyomi or any other genjutsu on just about anyone around me, yet I have to have my eyes aimed at my target if I wish to use Amaterasu on them. Regardless, we'll have to see about getting Sasuke back to the village…"

"Dynamic entry!"

'That'll work.' Kaiya thought as she watched Gai knock down Jiraiya.

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Getting back on the road to find Tsunade was quick and easy. Gai left with Sasuke leaving behind an amused Kaiya and not so amused Jiraiya. Though their journey got off on a rough start, Kaiya began to feel like their trip was more of a vacation from the village. Granted, Haku and Hinata made it more of a home along with her friends. Still, she had a feeling that things would be drastically different if she had maintained the Naruto disguise. She might have been forced to leave the village for the sake of protecting her friends as well as her own survival. Ironic that she was viewed as a demon when the real demons were the ones attacking her. Either way, she had to find Tsunade for the sake of making the lady the Godaime Hokage and to see about getting Sasuke healed as well as have Lee looked at. 'Maybe even have Sakura, Haku, and Hinata become her new apprentices.' First they had to find her of course.

Kaiya made sure to pass the time with reading a book as she walked which irritated Jiraiya a little. She practically had all of her stuff stored into scrolls and he had no clue of just how much she carried with her. Kaiya also made it rather difficult for him to train her in anything since she hardly feels like telling him what she knows and Kaiya didn't exactly feel like signing the summoning contract. It was for a different reason than what she told him. She knew the advantage of using the summoning jutsu to send secure messages across vast distances almost instantaneously. Unfortunately, that advantage could be used against her should she ever have to leave the village someday.

Kaiya didn't like to think that way but she wasn't a fool. The village has fallen far from its former glory and it wouldn't take much for the village to fear her power after their thoughts start to wander to certain territory. Kaiya would have to leave should that happen and the summoning contract would be like some leash to be used by anyone else that has signed the toad contract. There was no way she'd allow that. Still, when she rejected the toad contract she had to deal with a Sannin who simply viewed her as being a childish brat.

It's not her fault that she believes signing the toad contract to be a bit more personal than the Rasengan and Hiraishin. The two jutsus that he created and his position as Hokage are things that just about anyone could do with the right training to help them. In fact, if Kaiya wanted then she could teach enough people to make the Rasengan seem more like a signature move of Konoha's elite ninja. The Hiraishin would simply seem like the Hokage's version of the Shunshin no Jutsu that Jounin and Chuunin use. A summoning contract seems more like the kind of thing one passes down to their children and Kaiya hardly wants anything to do with her father. It's sort of an "I respect you but I hate your guts" relationship. Jiraiya's just lucky that she took it easy on him when he tried to defend his former apprentice.

He at least learned that she didn't exactly need a summoning contract when she could take on the form of a fox. That and the fact she could adjust her size from a cute and small little fox to a giant fox the size of if not bigger than Gamabunta and be anywhere in between. Fortunately, Kaiya revealed that fact in rather remote territory where no one was around for quite a ways. Unfortunately, she had to convince him that she wasn't about to act as some kind of animal where he could ride on her back. It was a good thing he picked up a lead on where Tsunade would be before Kaiya felt the need to do something drastic. She still wondered why she got to be the one stuck with him on this mission.

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Jiraiya was starting to get rather irritated. First, Kaiya hardly tells him anything of what she can do and he has to play twenty questions to figure things out. Second, she literally chewed him out when he decided to have her sign the toad summoning contract and had a hard time taking no for an answer. Third, he had to deal with her opinion of his previous apprentice. He could understand her viewpoint but still it didn't feel right to watch Minato's daughter want next to nothing to do with her father. Jiraiya knew that if Minato was still alive then Kaiya would make sure to kill him after forcing him to experience her memories. She wouldn't care what kind of person he may be like and the only thing that might save him would be that she wouldn't blindly kill him in front of others that think highly of Minato.

It was a rather sad thought but what really bothered him was that Kaiya apparently had been blessed with great luck. He did notice that she could adjust how old she looks and her ability wasn't some genjutsu. In a way, it was almost like watching the beginning to another Tsunade with a twist. Kaiya never lost, but at least she didn't gamble to excess. Maybe a couple tries during the times he stopped in a gambling house to get some information but that was about it. He actually watched as she won the grand prize from that old lady who was running the stand. In the end, he found himself needing a drink and silently thanked Kaiya for adjusting how old she looks yet again. His surprise was almost comical when he saw who else was in the place.

"Jiraiya?" Tsunade exclaimed in shock.

"Tsunade, it's certainly a surprise to see you here!" Jiraiya stated loudly as he made his way to Tsunade with Kaiya following behind.

"Why do I get the feeling you're not here due to random chance?" Tsunade asked with suspicion while Jiraiya and Kaiya sat down across from her.

"I take it you haven't heard what's happened recently in Konoha then?" Jiraiya pulled out a deck of cards which pretty much initiated their little ritual. In a way it was probably the only thing he could do to keep her seated long enough to pay attention and listen to all of what he had to say.

"Not really." Tsunade stated even though she looked as if something did happen but wanted to keep her apprentice from saying anything. Kaiya had raised an eyebrow at this but said nothing since she noticed that Jiraiya saw it too.

"Orochimaru attempted to destroy Konoha and kill the Sandaime Hokage. His plans were stopped and he was killed." Tsunade's expression told them something they clearly didn't like. "Sensei survived but he has decided that you will be the Godaime Hokage." This elicited a snort from Kaiya.

"Actually that was after the council tried to suggest having you as Hokage when the old man decided he was getting too old for the position. Personally, I'm glad he chose Tsunade so as to prevent you from using that crystal ball to peep on the bathhouses from a safe and remote location. The only thing you may have needed to worry about would have been a kunoichi showing up via Shunshin no jutsu and seeing what you were doing." Kaiya said while snickering at Jiraiya's face that clearly told her and the other two women that the super pervert had only just realized the opportunity he had passed onto his teammate. He wondered if some deity or god like figure hated him for some reason.

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Pein suddenly sneezed violently causing his head move forward and when it jerked backwards the back of his head hit a low hanging pipe behind him. He'll be having a headache when he wakes up and makes the mistake of "asking" Konan for tea that would "cure" him of his headache. He never really noticed how Konan was getting sick of his god-complex and had been secretly plotting his demise. She made sure to have a sample of his blood as well as securing all the summoning contracts he had. Both would act as gifts for her new home. Jiraiya might not be happy with her doing something that went against what he taught them. However, she knew that had she not taken certain actions years ago, then Kushina may have joined Pein's collection of bodies he could switch amongst. There was no way she'd allow such a thing to happen. Regardless, she just needed something with which to kill Pein… 'Hmm… Itachi mentioned something about finding some special tea that Nagato might like…'

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"So, Jiraiya, who is she anyway?"

"Why Tsunade, you're not jealous are you?" Jiraiya asked almost innocently before being elbowed harshly.

"In case you forgot, pervert, I'm already taken and the only reason why I'm here is because Uncle Saru requested it. Otherwise I'd be looking my normal age and spending my time with Haku-kun and Hinata-chan. Also you better remember the risks of putting either of us in any of your books. I already got the funny suspicion that I'm in one of the previous issues." Kaiya said with a glare while trying to keep her blush hidden.

The last thing she needed was to have to explain what she meant since it was one of those times where she kind of regretted posing as either a civilian or ninja that was either visiting or was actually a citizen of Konoha. She was never really able to look at her big sister Anko or Kurenai the same way for months after that. Luckily she was able to set things up where she'd just happen to discover the two of them in a compromising situation after managing to slip out. It may not have been nice to pull a prank like that but there was no way she'd run the risk of them finding out why she blushed Hinata red for a while. If they ever found out then she wasn't sure what would have been worse. How they'd react to learning that the "guy" they had an amazing time with was actually Anko's little sister or that their activities had gotten her hooked. She was just glad that Kurenai finally got together with Asuma and that Anko seemed to have taken an interest in Iruka. At least now she didn't have to worry about the two big sisters being worried about her orientation even after proving Haku's male gender.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Jiraiya didn't plan on putting her, Haku, and Hinata into any of his books until after they hit eighteen. He did secretly keep notes but they'd stay hidden mostly for his own safety. However, while he didn't know it, Kaiya was actually in two of his books. He simply altered the details just enough that Kaiya hadn't really put two and two together yet. Although, she had a sneaky suspicion that something about what she read in one book seemed oddly familiar. Perverted puzzles aside, Tsunade had to admit that the girl certainly impressed her. She didn't fail to notice the concentration of chakra in the elbow that would have made any normal man keel over from being hit in the side. Only some one like Jiraiya would be able to withstand the hit and give his tormentor the satisfaction of only a grunt.

"You seem to be forgetting that I'm not a pervert. I'm a super pervert."

'Like that's any better…' This thought was shared by Tsunade, Shizune, Kaiya, and Tonton.

"Anyway, whatever you are aside, Ero-Sannin…"

"Hey!"

"…The fact of the matter is whether or not Tsunade wishes to come back to Konoha to become the Godaime Hokage. We do need her to heal a few people who might appreciate her amazing talents as a healer." Kaiya emphasized the last part with a glare at Jiraiya. "And to answer your question, Lady Tsunade, my name is Kaiya Namikaze and I could care less whether you believe my heritage or not. In my opinion it's a lot better than that woman's maiden name being tacked onto my own name like the old days before there were other people besides the Hokage who actually cared. At least my father had an excuse, like being dead because he put his life on the line to keep everyone safe that night." Crossing her arms and closing her eyes, Kaiya's expression clearly stated that if they wanted answers then they'd have to ask Jiraiya. As it turns out, they didn't need to ask as he sighed before confirming.

"It's true. She's the daughter of my apprentice Minato as well as Kushina Uzumaki. She's also the child Minato used that night even though she was actually born a boy by the name of Naruto Uzumaki." Disbelief and silent questions of his sanity were the responses he got. "It's a long story. Anyway, from what I remember, Kushina was told that you were dead Kaiya and even if she knew that you were alive, then the council wouldn't have allowed even her to take you away from the village."

"Well it's a moot point at the moment since she's not here and we're not here to debate what she might have done if she knew I was alive. The only thing she's got going for her is that she didn't attack me like the villagers and I'm just lucky that I was able to avoid being raped by those who wouldn't care about my gender."

Tsunade, Shizune, and Tonton looked at Jiraiya as if to ask whether Kaiya's life was really that bad. His nod confirmed it but his expression said that there was far more than what Kaiya had mentioned.

"And you honestly expect me to become Hokage after hearing this? What's to stop us from just taking her with us and get as far away as possible from Konoha?" Tsunade demanded.

"Love… After all, I have people who are precious to me that reside in the village. The fact they live in Konoha is the only reason why the village still stands. Well, that and I wouldn't be able to fulfill my dream of becoming Hokage if Konohagakure was destroyed. I believe Uncle Saru said it best when he mentioned to me once that Konoha is his home and as Hokage, or rather the head of the household, he must protect that home. Besides, I already got a nice home that will one day be filled with the sounds of children having happy lives. I'd rather not be forced to move elsewhere when I get pregnant. I'll admit that your eyes don't exactly impress me enough to prove your worthiness of being Hokage. After all, you seem to still be grieving the loss of your precious people and truthfully I'd rather not stick around in a village with you being Hokage as you are now. Anyway, the only advice I have for you is to grow up and move on. You still have some one who cares about you and it'd be such a shame that I'd have to explain to certain kunoichi why I didn't get your autograph for them. Then again, seeing you this way might make them not feel so bad about it." Kaiya said as she moved to get up and while her back was turned to Tsunade she continued. "Call the Hokages fools for laying their lives on the line to save others if you must, but remember who you are disrespecting since three of them had risked their lives to save your pretty little ass on numerous occasions."

Tsunade couldn't get out of her seat fast enough after getting over the shock of hearing Kaiya's words. In her mind she couldn't believe that a mere genin had managed to get under her skin. Technically, Kaiya was a Chuunin now but that hardly made things better. Either way, Tsunade certainly wasn't going to let Kaiya get away with what she said. Walking outside only made things easier since the establishment wouldn't appreciate them fighting inside. Apparently, Kaiya had the same idea as she was standing out in the middle of the empty street. She did find it odd that they had all seemed to clear out as if almost instinctively sensing danger. There was hardly a need for Tsunade to declare her desire to fight. Although, Tsunade saying that she could with just one finger certainly made Kaiya curious. 'Either she's a little more drunk than I thought, about as arrogant as the size of her boobs, or simply very confident of victory. I think I'll go for all of the above.'

Their fight didn't exactly last long. Kaiya decided to start the fight since she knew that Tsunade's choice in tactics left the Sannin in a more defensive position. Not a bad idea actually since she'd patiently wait for Kaiya to get irritated and impatient. Both qualities would have diminished Kaiya's fighting performance. Starting off, Kaiya made it seem like Tsunade's little boast had got under her skin. Then again, it wasn't all that hard to do after spending so many years acting. Sure, Tsunade managed to disarm her of the kunai that had been wielded to appear foolish. The kunai was returned to Kaiya via a glancing blow that made sure to have the handle hit her instead of the blade. She didn't appreciate the whole flick to the forehead but at least she got a sense of Tsunade's skill level. The real trick was what she planned to do next. Kaiya had a feeling that her Naruto persona would have tried the whole Rasengan thing, and just charge blindly towards Tsunade. However, she was smarter than that and knew the possible property damage that could be caused even if she succeeded. 'The Nara clan probably won't be too happy about what I do next…'

Now one has to admit the truth that if one were to see a jutsu enough times, then it's possible that the observer could analyze the jutsu carefully enough to copy it as well as understand how it operates. Kaiya was rather thankful that Jiraiya occasionally left her alone to her own machinations so she could train in wielding the technique she saw Shikamaru use constantly. Granted, she planned to make a formal apology and do her best to make up for the whole thing. However, at the moment she had a little fight to win. She knew that trying to perform the two jutsus will no doubt tax her chakra control and that's doubly true for what she had in mind. For shock value and distraction material, Kaiya formed a Rasengan into her right hand using both hands. While she was "struggling" a little with containing the Rasengan, her shadow raced across the ground. Jiraiya was probably the only one to take notice of the Kage Mane no Jutsu being used. By the time he fully reviewed Kaiya's tactics, Tsunade was caught. Now most wouldn't think that a Sannin could remain caught by such a jutsu since a Genin or Chuunin wouldn't be expected to have much in terms of chakra. However, Kaiya's chakra amount kind of exceeds normal limits and allowed her to walk up to Tsunade who only just realized how she was trapped as the Rasengan dissipated. The Slug-Sannin actually wondered what Kaiya had in mind the moment they were standing face to face at arm's length. Her answer came in the form of a fist to her face which she imitated.

Both felt the impact but not because Tsunade's punch hit Kaiya. Unknown to everyone, Kaiya subtly adjusted the length of her arm. This allowed her fist to hit Tsunade and caused Tsunade's fist to stop at barely touching Kaiya's face. It was enough for Kaiya to win seeing as how Tsunade won by using more than just her finger even though she was forced, and in Kaiya's mind it didn't matter how Tsunade was forced to use more than just a finger. Well, some methods she wouldn't resort to but she at least got her victory in along with a black eye. 'Heh, I may feel the effects of the punch as well but at least I'm not the only one to get half my face looking a little like Gaara.' This was Kaiya's thoughts before falling unconscious but she made sure to mumble out loud about how she won. Despite how Kaiya was the one knocked out, no one could fault her logic. She did make Tsunade use more than just a finger even though it cost her. Tsunade's respect for Kaiya certainly grew. The Slug-Sannin couldn't help but be reminded of those she lost and how they would have probably wanted to give her a similar kick in the head as what Kaiya did. She may not be ready to consider the whole thing just yet; however she was certainly leaning towards it more than before. 'Still, that jutsu…'

"Jiraiya, were you the one to teach her the Rasengan? What were you thinking?" Tsunade asked while trying to be scary despite her black eye kind of ruining the effect.

"Actually, I didn't teach her anything. Truthfully, I hardly know what she's capable of beyond what she chose to reveal to her team and others. Iruka actually learned the hard way to not mess with any kids that Kaiya cares about even if it was just some test to see if the genin were ready for the Chuunin exams. I suspect sensei gave her scrolls on the Rasengan and Hiraishin considering who her father happens to be. I wanted to teach her how to summon toads, but she expressed a disinterest in such a thing since it would mean being that much closer to her father." Jiraiya said the last part with a sad tone as he walked up to Kaiya and picked her up bridal style. "She may respect her father's sacrifice, yet at the same time she hates him so much. I don't know what the villagers did to her but as a result of their treatment Kaiya only allowed herself to know the two techniques and continue going for the Hokage title after learning of who her parents were. The latter of the two was a decision made to respect her old life. In a way, she's sort of like you Tsunade."

Tsunade couldn't help but agree as she observed the girl in Jiraiya's arms. Kaiya certainly seemed like the little sister she never had. Jiraiya did wisely keep his mouth shut about Kaiya's lucky streak. Tsunade silently signaled for him to follow her and Shizune to their hotel room. They failed to notice the group of missing-nins who had been watching the whole time. It was the very same group that confronted Tsunade for the location of Kushina Uzumaki. The headbands showed that they were from Iwagakure and unlike most ninja of their village they had earned their rank as S-class criminals. Each one of them probably could have lost to an armless Orochimaru and subordinate that was only around to help summon any snakes Orochimaru may need. However, put the four of them together and they'd be dangerous. They were also dangerous because of what information they stumbled across when raiding one of Orochimaru's hideouts after hearing of his death.

Word travels fast when surviving Sound ninja decide to inform their friends. Most ninja may have made their way to the top by being ruthless but they did tend to make a few comrades. Regardless of the Otogakure's situation, the four Iwa ninja had been able to find one of Orochimaru's hidden bases and learned enough to motivate Tsunade into telling them the location of Kushina. After all, if they got the wife of the Yondaime, then there was the chance they'd be allowed back into Iwagakure. The only reason why they were missing-nins was because of a mistake that forced them to leave the village. How were they suppose to know that there was a dead body hidden away and trying to hide it again would implicate them as murderers. Finding Kushina was their only hope to possibly redeem themselves after the circumstances behind the murder was cleared up. They were missing-nins until her corpse entered the village with them.

Thanks to Jiraiya, they now had three things with which to use against Tsunade. First was her Hemophobia, fear of blood, which would leave her vulnerable and unable to move. Second, they could use the Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Edo Tensei to summon her boyfriend and little brother. They figured those two would be a lot closer to her than the Shodaime and Nidaime. And finally, the third was that they could kidnap the girl and threaten to do things that would be considered worse than death. The four couldn't really kill her since keeping her and Kushina alive might actually improve their position with their village. The only good thing is that they'd only follow through with their threats should Tsunade not help them since they had no need to try anything before hand. The fact none of them lost anyone important to the Yondaime was probably a small mercy for those they plan to bring to Iwagakure. For now, it was a simple matter of being patient.


	13. Chapter 12

Forgiveness of a Kitsune

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did then there would have been serious changes made to the story.**

Chapter 12

The four Iwa ninjas were treated to the humorous sight of seeing how Tsunade and Jiraiya interact with each other. None of them knew how to lip read so they missed whatever it was that Jiraiya may have said to upset her. The four watched as the two Sannin, "two" apprentices, and the pig fall asleep. After they were sure everyone was out cold, they made their move. Now, their actions may seem simple and poorly thought out, however they had a few things working for them. The first and important part is the element of surprise. They may have confronted Tsunade but as far as she knew they'd only bother her after the week was up. The second part was a little trick that they had been taught when they were kids. 'The trick to not getting caught while doing something with ill intent is to have no ill intent.' In short, it meant that they had to keep their minds clear of any negative emotion that might be picked up on by experienced ninja. It wasn't easy for them to do at first but overtime they managed. However, they only reserved it for stealth missions since full confrontation would make their little trick useless. After all, it's kind of hard to stab a kunai into some one while keeping their minds clear of ill intent. That's mainly because their target would be able to see the kunai and thus avoid it. They may be quick on their feet but they certainly aren't as fast as they would need to be to pull something like that off.

This was obvious when one of them bumped into a potted plant that was owned by the hotel to make their rooms seem more appealing than another. Sadly, the plant fell and crashed onto the floor before it could be caught. The sound woke up Shizune and Tonton who acted as an alarm for Tsunade and Jiraiya. While the idiots weren't quick enough to save a plant and its pot, they certainly managed to get out quickly enough that it seemed like hell itself was after them. Technically, hell might as well have been after them if the old saying of scorned women happened to be true. Luckily, their plan of two slipping in and the other two covering their get away paid off. Thus, they left behind two upset Sannins, one worried apprentice, a distressed pig, and the message they had the brains to leave behind before taking Kaiya who strangely didn't wake up at all. She was alive at least. Her unconscious state was a mystery they didn't bother to try and figure out. At the moment they had to prepare for when Tsunade was to show up at the designated area the next day at noon. They did get to enjoy the sunrise before slipping into another one of the Snake-Sannin's hideouts that they stumbled across.

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Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, and Tonton were quite the bundle of emotions after reading the note that the kidnappers left behind. Jiraiya wasn't happy with the whole thing especially since it might have been avoided if Tsunade or her apprentice actually mentioned the existence of the four Iwa ninja. The fact that they were in Hi no Kuni was something that should have been mentioned even if they weren't going after Kushina. Regardless, all the bickering in the world wouldn't bring Kaiya back and there wasn't much time to prepare. However, making any sort of preparations in this kind of situation is rather difficult. The only thing that'd make the rescuing of Kaiya easy is if the leader were to just drop dead.

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"He's dead…" Kisame stated as he poked Pein's slumped over corpse with Samehade.

"Hn... Kaiya-san was right about the poison being potent enough to kill Hidan." Itachi said as he decapitated and dismembered the immortal just to be sure. In another life they may have let the guy live along with his now dead partner, but not this time. Still, Itachi really had to wonder about Tobi. Kisame liked how he brightened up the place and would no doubt be a little upset over Tobi's death. Itachi didn't really like the whole thing either but the only reason why he was in Akatsuki was because some one killed the clan. The leader with a god complex kept quite a few records of previous members and it kind of irritated Itachi as to who was responsible. Apparently Shisui Uchiha was about as dead as he was loyal to the clan or Konoha. Somehow he was able to revive himself while leaving behind a corpse that was disguised by a multi-layer genjutsu. Itachi's twitching eyebrow was a testament to how he felt about his "brother" stealing one of his tricks without asking. The only good thing out of the whole mess was that Shisui got himself killed attempting to take down Hanzo. Before he died however, Shisui did set off explosives he rigged on his body as a way of insuring he wouldn't die alone or leave a corpse behind to be mutilated. His impulsive actions allowed Pein to be victorious later on when he fought with Hanzo. So far though, no one knows that Hanzo is dead and his summoning contract is in the hands of his killer. They also don't know that Hanzo's killer is dead too. The last part is probably for the best since various people wouldn't be all that happy with the ones responsible for killing Pein. For now, they simply needed to get rid of the evidence and prepare to leave. Although, he was still annoyed that Konan had mentioned that not even she knew the full extent of what Pein was truly trying to achieve with the gathering of so much power.

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'So, what do you think they're trying to achieve?'

'**Well, Jiraiya did state your heritage out in the open and judging from their headbands it would be easy to guess that they want revenge.**'

"Hey, are you sure she's Minato's daughter, brother? I mean she looks too old for that." The four Iwa ninjas missed the sudden tick of Kaiya's eyebrow at the old comment.

"Perhaps you were too drunk to remember what they had been talking about but she's clearly his daughter. Now we have the perfect bargaining chip to obtain information on Kushina Uzumaki. We may be able to take her and her daughter back to the village where we'd be able to clear our names and maybe even get something extra for bringing along the daughter of Minato Namikaze."

'Well, there goes your theory of revenge.'

'**At least this provides us with some useful information and you don't have to worry about them trying anything, yet.**'

'Yeah, however I find it rather annoying I'm in the situation that most of those fan-girls wish they'd be in so that their knight in shining armor would come save them. You'd think they'd realize the risks of being in this sort of situation and that it's possible their knight might not come to save them either because he was severely injured, killed, or simply doesn't care.'

'**Well, you'll just have to thank the academy or the Jounin-senseis for not allowing them to become ninja. Personally, they kind of make for interesting fan-girls since the general norm of that persona type doesn't include what little ninja skills they possessed. Then again, in some cases the line tends to get rather blurry.**'

'No kidding… I'm just glad that Sakura was convinced to kick the fan-girl habit. Anyways, I guess while we wait for things to get interesting we could look over the information that was obtained during the Chuunin exams.'

'**I'm surprised you didn't pitch a fit when those Iwa ninja mentioned who they were after. You don't exactly like her all that well so why remain when there's chance you'll end up meeting her? You don't plan to kill her do you?**'

'No… To have feelings for her even if they are of hatred would be acknowledging her existence.'

Akahana winced at Kaiya's response. As a mother she knew that the only thing worse than having a child that hates you was to have your child ignore your very existence. She had a feeling that the wound in Kaiya's heart ran deep but not this deep. And so, since there was still time until the expected event of interest, Akahana decided to have Kaiya go over the details and possibilities of what caused Kushina to leave without Kaiya. Besides, there were a few facts she remembered that Kaiya was too young to remember or understand. She had but one thought before getting started. 'This certainly will not be easy.'

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"That was easy…" Ibiki stated with disappointment as he finished up questioning the last surviving and uncooperative Sound ninja. The Sound Four and Kin Tsuchi had actually taken Sarutobi's offer of joining Konohagakure with the understanding that they were on probation for ninety days. Despite Tayuya's vulgar response, the former Sound ninjas were grateful and showed it by helping with the repairing of the village. Integrating themselves amongst the other citizens of Konoha started off a little rough but things turned out okay. Tayuya made an interesting impression and gained approval of the female half of the village after hitting Sakon and Ukon with her flute when the two tried hitting on any female body that's at least old enough to have gone through puberty. Kidomaru and Shikamaru became friends in a similar manner as Chouji and Jirobo. Both shared similar interests even though Kidomaru has to join up with Kiba for any pranks that they can squeeze in on their free time. Although, on occasions Kidomaru tries to play three games at once with Shikamaru, Asuma, and whoever the third player ends up being. Tayuya found herself as a friend to Anko and Kurenai. She wasn't sure which was redder, her hair or her skin, when the Snake Mistress and Ice Queen had reminisced on their exploits with some guy they occasionally met in the past. Sakon and Ukon were slightly infected by whatever Gai and Lee have. Everyone was just glad the twins hadn't started wearing green spandex and orange leg warmers.

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Achoo! The eldest beastly taijutsu specialist sneezed before ranting about flames of youth and whatever "training" he'd inflict upon himself. His clone and newest protégé followed his example. The greatest fear has started and Konoha doesn't stand a chance.

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'**So will you at least give her a chance?**'

'Fine…' Kaiya sighed. She wasn't exactly ready to forgive her mother and try to make up for everything. However, if she at least proves herself to be better than the villagers, then Kaiya might be willing to give her a shot. Kushina had better not waste her one chance.

"Well, I guess it's time that we meet Tsunade and get the information from her." The group's leader stated as he stood up and walked to the entrance. "You each know the plan so I won't bother with the details again. Let's go."

Apparently, all four left and took Kaiya with them. Her state of unconsciousness made them rather lax in dealing with her. They at least made sure to take her clothes and replace them with a spare shirt and pants. Her stuff was simply placed in an empty box before they tied her up so as to prevent her from attacking or getting away. The leader had the decency to leave her undergarments on and seemed almost clinical during the whole thing. The key word being "almost" since he didn't quite notice a particularly unusually shaped patch of discoloration on her skin. It was almost embarrassing to think that each of them was somewhat below Orochimaru's level. If the Snake-Sannin's corpse had been buried then it would have been writhing in its grave should some one compare the four Iwa ninja to him. Still, Sarutobi had to wonder just what he was smoking as he watched a specific ash filled urn dance around on a shelf.

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Tsunade could tell that these guys were good based on how they spaced themselves out. The leader was obviously in front. Two were placed so that there was one on his left and right sides. Those two were placed in flanking positions so that if she rushed the leader, then they'd attack from her sides. Her speed would only be a double edge sword in that regards since her back would probably be what the two could see as they flanked her. The last one was behind the leader by about the same distance as those ready to flank her. If she had a bird's eye view then she'd notice how they had positioned themselves almost like the Sharingan's three tomoes surrounding the pupil. As for Kaiya, she was laying down behind the leader. It didn't look like they did anything to her beyond tying her up with rope and changing her clothes. Tsunade had to admit that these guys were at least of better moral quality than the others of their village. She almost felt bad for how things will turn out, yet it was them who made the mistake of kidnapping Kaiya. It was actually kind of funny that Tsunade's maternal instincts were kicking in a little when she remembered that she was the one to help Kushina give birth to Kaiya. She still remembered knocking Jiraiya through a wall after some comment he made about the child Kushina gave birth to. Her amusement brought a chuckle from her throat.

"Is something funny?" The leader asked Tsunade in a manner that made the ninja behind him look around for an ambush. This provided a blind spot and it lasted long enough for a certain ninja to pull a trick. It was a trick where the ninja spoke to cover up the noise of the preparation process.

"Yes actually, there is." Kaiya said as the blade of the Raijin Sword pierced through the leader's torso before he could finish his seal-less kawarimi. He had been too focused on an attack from outside the perimeter of his men that he didn't notice Kaiya's actions. The patch of discolored skin was actually a unique tag of some time that Kaiya came up with since her shape-shifting ability would ruin the effectiveness of any storage seal tattooed onto her body. It was probably the most annoying drawback of shape-shifting. The only other option was to learn of a way to have her personal possessions stored inside the seal with Akahana. So storage seal tags were the best option. Disguise the backing so that it matched her current skin color and she had herself a secret weapon that could be brought out when she had need. For example, the situation she was in now. Her arm was the only thing that was free to move around but it was enough for her to dispatch the Iwa ninja. Everyone was rather shocked by her actions, yet the Iwa ninjas were more shocked by the fact she was awake. Apparently she had played them for fools. None of them were happy about it but the only one who could do anything was the one that had been behind the leader. The reason why he was the only one was because Shizune had popped out and dealt with one of the flanking ninja via poison senbon. Jiraiya took out the other with a Rasengan. Both had moved to Kaiya's position but the remaining Iwa ninja had already started to move towards her.

Now the remaining Iwa ninja may have been from Iwagakure, but he was once from Kumogakure. He was from a clan that was next to immune to lightning jutsus. So kicking the Raijin Sword out of Kaiya's hand was easy compared to taking a dragon style lightning jutsu full force and at point blank range. Truthfully he still wondered why he was goaded into helping some one with their target practice by being the target. All the immunity to lightning jutsu didn't save him from Tsunade's punch after his kunai stabbed into Kaiya's chest. Anyone who knew enough anatomy could tell Kaiya's heart had probably been pierced by the kunai. However, no one needed to know anatomy to know that the Iwa ninja was dead. His head's condition was about as unnatural as its position. Nobody's neck bends that far back even if they are really flexible. The next few moments were a blur. No one actually clear on what happened but one thing was for sure. Tsunade didn't fear blood anymore and Jiraiya got smacked around a little since it was believed that he had spilled the wrong information at the wrong time and place. They were right but with the Iwa ninja dead it would be difficult to confirm.

When Kaiya had regained consciousness she found herself in a hotel room with Tsunade and Shizune near her. She did notice that Tsunade seemed to be lacking her necklace and it didn't appear to be around anywhere. 'Did she lose it? No that doesn't seem likely since it belonged to her grandfather and she doesn't seem like the person to care about how valuable the thing is.'

"Hehehe… Jackpot."

'Then again…'

"Oh you're awake." Shizune said as she was quickly shrugging off what little tiredness she may have been feeling from just waking up. "It's good to see your feeling better. Everyone was worried about you even though Tsunade-sama might not admit it."

"Heh, I'd probably be dead if she wasn't worried." Kaiya felt a little guilty at her comment when she saw Shizune wince. "Anyway I'm curious about what happened to her necklace. Did she lose it somewhere?"

"Not really… However, before I tell you where it is there's something you need to know about the necklace." Shizune went on to explain to Kaiya about the necklace's curse and the lives it claimed. To Kaiya it was old news since she had reviewed Orochimaru's memories during her free time. It was actually kind of sad on how the events allowed Tsunade to feel responsible for the deaths of Dan and Nawaki. She actually wondered why Shizune felt that she needed to know this. 'One would really only bother telling some one something like this is if it involves them somehow…'

"She gave it to me didn't she?"

"Yes… She's entrusting you with her faith and willingness to believe in something again. Don't let her down." Shizune said with a fierce determination that spoke of a painful death should Kaiya fail Tsunade. It actually brought a smile to Kaiya's face for more than one reason.

"Don't worry I won't hurt the one you care about." Kaiya said in a tone that was serious at first and actually made Shizune aware that she was dealing with some one who wasn't just some brooding brat. The last part though, it took her mind a moment to register what Kaiya was hinting at before she had a full body blush. She adamantly tried to convince Kaiya that her feelings for Tsunade weren't like that. Unfortunately, her efforts caused Tsunade to awaken and for Kaiya to realize that laughing wasn't smart to do while her body was still healing. Akahana and Tsunade may have healed her wound but the whole thing was fairly recent so her body was still sore. Tsunade's scolding drowned out Jiraiya's perverted giggle. Kaiya was the only one who knew he was just outside the door and she had a feeling he just wrote down Shizune's threat and her response as well as Shizune's denials. Jiraiya's newest book started to seem more interesting and it wasn't even made yet.

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Despite protests, Kaiya made her way to the hideout that the Iwa ninja used. Tsunade, Shizune, and Jiraiya accompanied her into the place. It was a good thing they did since the place apparently had a few things that Jiraiya thought would be of interest to Konoha for whatever reason. He allowed Kaiya to keep the ring she found. The rings held some significance but he didn't have a clue as to what. Once the place was cleaned out its entrance was sealed shut. There wasn't a point to destroying the whole complex and they couldn't actually pull it off even if they wanted to. Kaiya wasn't in any shape to start making bunshin to explode in key places. There weren't enough explosive tags to do the job either. So instead, Jiraiya made sure to figure out the exact location of the secret base and marked it on a map. The only thing about the whole place that was note worthy was that the whole place appeared to have been abandoned in a hurry. There were some signs that some people had been eating when the evacuation occurred. From the look of things, there was going to be serious problems in the future.

On the bright side, he had found notes on Orochimaru's research involving the cursed seal. Kaiya simply told him that he needn't worry about the cursed seal on Sasuke, Anko, and the others Orochimaru marked. She sounded about as unconcerned as she did when mentioning that she didn't care about who got the money from the bounties on the four Iwa ninja. Tsunade got the money by default since Jiraiya didn't really feel like keeping it either. Shizune was just glad that Tsunade didn't decide to gamble the money away, yet. Then again, it might have something to do with Kaiya suggesting that she could at least try to pay off her gambling debts so that she wouldn't have a bunch of IOU's in her suitcase. None thought to ask how Kaiya knew about the IOU's even though Tsunade wasn't exactly happy. However, Kaiya convinced her to pay off what she could via gambling. In the end, Tsunade owed Kaiya a bit more than agreeing to pay off what was possible. Thankfully, none of it was money even though Tsunade wasn't so sure whether that was a good thing.

She also wasn't sure it was a good idea for Kaiya to be traveling after the whole kunai to the heart thing either. Either way, Tsunade really wasn't so sure about what they would be doing next since there was no way of knowing how Kaiya would react when meeting the person who the Iwa ninja were after. She just hoped the girl wouldn't kill her own mother on sight.

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Whether it was ironic coincidence or just some joke of fate, Kushina Uzumaki and Rin were leaving the town via the same route that was taken by Tsunade, Jiraiya, Shizune, Kaiya and Tonton. At the time of their meeting however, Kaiya was distracted by the peaceful surroundings and how it was so unlike Konoha. Outside the village she didn't have to think about how the village only treated her nicely after she dropped the Naruto disguise. They even went as far as to suck up to her just because of who her father happens to be. It truly disgusted her and she had a strong feeling that the village would go back to treating her badly should they ever make the connection that she and Naruto Uzumaki are one and the same. 'The village certainly has become a place that makes Hokages question their desire to protect it.'

Kaiya's deep thoughts had made her forget the audience she had and left her puzzled as to why Akahana was laughing. All she could make out was that the giant fox was muttering something along the lines of needing to hide emotions better and something about great unintentional timing. Kaiya's confused face was met with curious looks from everyone.

"What?"

"Nothing…" Jiraiya said quickly. He knew how bad things could get with an upset Kaiya and his reaction made the others give pause. After all, his reaction is usually reserved for Tsunade or some one her equal if not stronger. It made them think carefully about how to act around Kaiya since she didn't look to happy when she heard the names of the two that Tsunade introduced to her. The faraway look made them even more worried. Kushina especially since Kaiya looked particularly disgusted after she asked Tsunade about the Slug-Sannin's sanity at suggesting that Kaiya was the child she gave birth to. Tsunade's claim was backed up by Jiraiya and they both offered to explain everything so Kaiya's reaction seemed to strangely hurt Kushina. In Kushina's mind she could only guess that Kaiya must have been thinking. 'Probably thinks I'm not much of a mother if I can't recognize one of my own children. Not that I blame her for thinking that since she looks like she had a rough life. I know I gave birth to a boy but despite the logical impossibility I find it hard to disbelieve Tsunade's claim even without Jiraiya backing her up. If it is true, then the pervert will pay if he has influenced her in anyway.'

Jiraiya suddenly had to force back a shudder lest he incur the wrath of five powerful kunoichi. One thing he learned about being a super pervert. If there's a group of powerful women around then it would be best to keep full control of how your body acts. Otherwise the women might think your doing something perverted should you not be careful. The beat down that could occur would be a painful one and that's especially true when at least three of them have amazing knowledge of the human body. Although, he did have an odd feeling that something was slightly off about the whole "interaction" between the ladies. For his own safety he decided to keep quiet about his theory. Even if speaking about it might help things it was probably best to not make the same mistake he made the last time he mentioned what he thought Kaiya must have been thinking. 'How was I supposed to know that I was digging my own grave by talking about where her thoughts must have been going when I joked around by teasing her with that shape-shifting ability of hers? At least I can guess which books I might have written her in but I'll never admit to putting her in there. If I did then I'd be dead way before the old man joins me and Orochimaru.' Jiraiya shudders as he contemplated the many ways the ladies might decide on using to kill him.

Thankfully, none of them notice as they walked to a hotel while Tsunade mentioned something that was clearly meant for distracting him. The words hot springs and mixed bathing got him to clear out so fast that some who knew the Yondaime thought they just saw a ghost of the great Hokage. Then they'd dump the contents of their sake bottles on the ground because they knew that the flash of light they saw was white and not yellow. Therefore they were drinking bad sake and decided to leave the establishment with the firm idea of never returning there to get drunk ever again. They'd go somewhere else…

Sadly for him, the ladies didn't exactly show up. Well, there were a few ladies but they were older than him. He missed out on the meeting that the five kunoichi had while playing the Pachinko games. Obviously Tsunade choose the location. Shizune and Rin stood behind the three kunoichi playing Pachinko. Tsunade was on the far right, Kaiya was in the middle, and Kushina was on the left. Shizune and Rin were boggled at the sight while they remained behind their respective sensei. Technically, Rin was the student of the Yondaime but when he passed away, Kushina took over teaching Rin what she could. For the most part they had simply wandered around collecting bounties off missing-nins and learning new jutsus along the way. They bumped into Jiraiya enough times to learn a few things from him. He did so as a favor to his old apprentice. Anyway, Tsunade had to explain to Kushina about a few things from what she heard through Jiraiya. Apparently, despite being upset with Sarutobi for lying about her child, Kushina was actually impressed with Kaiya and sorely upset with Konoha. The disturbing part of the whole "meeting" was Kaiya's impassive silence. Well, there's that and how she kept winning but gave her winnings to Tsunade to use and lose. It was a rather surreal sight for the owners of the Pachinko games. Kaiya's winnings had actually started to make up for what Tsunade lost.

The real beauty of it all was the set up of the Pachinko machines. Unlike most places where the machines had a limited set of balls already inside, this place had a similar set up except for the transfer system that allowed balls from one machine to be transferred to another. This was in case some one got the rare shot of winning big twice in a row. They knew it was almost impossible but some one already proved it to be possible when some one else jinxed them once. Now though, they were extremely grateful they choose to set things up the way they did. If it weren't for the fact that Tsunade the Legendary Sucker was with the lady who had the unimaginable luck, then they would have kicked her out after the third time she won big. It was rather creepy that she was so quiet. The silence was almost suffocating as the other kunoichi ran out of things to talk about and the silent woman looked as if she had dumped her winnings into Tsunade's lap again. All but one…

---------

Kushina wasn't sure what to make of Kaiya's odd gesture of dropping one pachinko ball into the well that fed her machine. Hearing it drop was almost like waiting for a huge boulder to land. Everyone had let go of the breath they had been holding while Kaiya got up and walked away.

"Why?" Kushina asked Kaiya before the Neo Kyuubi no Kitsune got very far. Her question was more for why Kaiya was being so hostile. She could understand Kaiya's feelings but a part of her wanted to know. Her answer wasn't exactly what she expected.

"I should at least thank you for giving birth to me." Kaiya stated in such a cold manner that a nearby Pachinko player was able to see her own breath. Kaiya left via Shunshin no Jutsu and Kushina quickly got out of her seat to follow. Neither of them noticed that when Kushina went from cold shock to blazing motherly rage she had unintentionally pulled the handle that fed the pachinko ball into the machine. The remaining three kunoichi had to deal with Kushina's pachinko machine suddenly hitting the jackpot.

---------

The chase lasted for a few hours. Kushina kept finding Kaiya only for the wayward child to shunshin away. The redheaded mother soon got tired and decided to regain her energy by eating something. 'Who knows… Maybe I'll just happen to come across her position while she's eating.' Kushina suddenly noticed some lonely figure sitting at one of those small bars and appeared to be drinking alone. Her stomach chose that time to inform her of its need for food and the shop was the only thing nearby that was open. 'Besides, there's something I'd like to confirm about the lonely drinker.' Kushina slipped in.

"Mind if I join you?"

"That depends on what kind of person you are, mother."

"Well, I know I'm not like the villagers back home. I may be considered a monster to some people but not even I could bring myself to do even one of the things they did to you."

"At least they acknowledged me even though the attention they focused wasn't exactly healthy for me."

"Even though the old man lied to me and said that you had died, I had tried to adopt you or at least take you away. However, the damn council wouldn't allow it."

"So you just left me behind to rot instead of staying to try and help my life be a little easier?"

"I'll admit that my decision to leave was wrong, but can you honestly say that my presence would have made much of a difference? No one beyond a handful of people even knew the real reason why you had been given my clan name instead of your father's. Besides, had I stayed I would have been sorely tempted to kill anyone who harmed you and that would only make them think I was influenced. I'm sure you can imagine what would happen after that!" Kushina bit back and grimaced a little at Kaiya's solemn expression as the possible scenario played through her mind.

"Yeah, and I suspect that both of us would be dead or dying while our home was burned down. Then the village would be destroyed soon afterwards." It didn't take long for Kushina to figure out the meaning behind the last part.

"I suppose so, yet I suspect that things will be looking up soon. Still, I don't think I could ever apologize enough for leaving you behind. Then again, would you stay in a village that doesn't respect the sacrifice and last wish of the man who was the father of your child?" Kushina said with a far off look before taking a sip of sake.

"Good point." Kaiya stated while blinking her eyes repeatedly. 'How the hell did I miss something like that?' Kaiya downed the sake in her cup.

'**Don't feel too bad. I didn't really think about it either. Still, I wonder if anyone else thought the same yet didn't mention it.**'

'If they thought about it then wouldn't they have mentioned it?'

'**Sometimes people come up with ideas but don't use them. In my time amongst humanity I've learned that if some one has an idea, then there's a chance some one else has had the same idea. This can actually happen when there isn't even a method for either person to learn of the other's idea. That's why people look for ways to research things like jutsu for example and find ways to counter what an enemy could use to harm them. The goal is to eliminate the element of surprise from the enemy's arsenal and adapt quickly to whatever possible threat that the enemy may utilize. Sadly, such research can reach new lows of how dark humanity can be…**'

'I guess you would know seeing as how you've lived so long. Anyway, that's enough with the dark brooding line of thinking. Now we need to see about who's going to play what part in the future wedding.' Kaiya straightened out her face while Akahana snickered at the prank in progress. Kushina was about to take another sip of sake…

"Well, I think one way that would make up for almost all of what you did or didn't do is to decide what part you wish to play in the wedding." Kaiya suddenly got sprayed with sake.

"Funny I didn't think weddings involved spitting sake." Kaiya chuckled while grinning like a fox as she noticed her birth mother was looking at her with a twitching eyebrow.

'You planned that didn't you, daughter? Well then, you realize this means war. I may not know what exactly you inherited from your father's loins but I know you got the prankster gene from me. Before we reach Konoha, you will be bowing down to the prank mistress.'


	14. Chapter 13

Forgiveness of a Kitsune

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did then there would have been serious changes made to the story.**

Chapter 13

Despite certain debt issues that had to be cleared up with a little help from Boss Jirocho, the group that consisted of almost all kunoichi managed to leave the town in relative peace. Kaiya and Kushina seemed to have declared a prank war on each other and it tested the patience of everyone. Tsunade, Shizune, Tonton, Rin, and even Jiraiya, after he was fished out of the hot spring, couldn't figure out the reason for the prank war between Kushina and Kaiya. However, the pranks were at least small scale and harmless in nature. Luckily for everyone, the only targets in the pranks were Kaiya and Kushina. It wasn't clear who started the little war though Rin did notice that Kushina had a smug look on her face when Kaiya had reported her new toothpaste being a little spicy. If one calls a little spicy to be enough to cause Kaiya to literally breathe fire in the middle of nowhere that is. Kushina soon felt Kaiya's retaliation in the form of feeling a strong need to go to the bathroom. Too bad for her she had to use the bushes. Kaiya's cool attitude seemed a little too cool at that time. Eventually they agreed to a truce when it was realized that the prank war was slowing them down.

To make up for lost time, Kaiya used her fox form to transport everyone. It was an interesting trip even though Kaiya's speed made it rather short. The trees they passed by seemed like more of a blur and if one were to look up then they'd be treated to the unique view of the sky. The sky was like some one had used a scroll as a canvas and continuously opened it at a steady pace. While it would have taken days to reach Konoha on foot, the actual time it took was just a few hours much to the disappointment of everyone. Fortunately, Kaiya's path was free of people even though she did literally scare the crap out of a few wild animals. None dared block Kaiya's path or attack her for that matter. A bit of wisdom made Kaiya stop short of reaching Konoha. After all, there's no need to scare the village into doing something drastic. Everyone made sure to jump down before Kaiya shape-shifted back into human form. Her fox body seemed to shrink before reaching the appropriate size for the next part of the process to occur.

Jiraiya quickly turned around before anything significant was available to everyone's eyes. This saved him from being hurt by not only Tsunade but also Kushina. Kaiya's last stage of transforming seemed rather disturbing and fascinating at the same time. First, some of the white fur lengthened and seemed to form a temporary mane around the head as the muzzle, ears, and fur receded into the shape of a human head and face. Second, the rest of the fur on her body began to recede in a flowing motion like skin colored water cascading from the top of the neck to the toes of her feet that still resembled the paws they were a moment ago. Going from walking on all fours to two legs was an interesting sight as Kaiya arched her back during that part while her nine tails receded into the base of her spine. It was an impressive sight. The only problem is that she was naked thanks to the fact she hadn't learned certain techniques from Akahana just yet. So Kaiya was stuck with the annoyance for now. However, being naked wasn't as bad as the problem that Kaiya suddenly found herself dealing with.

Apparently, her severe lack of testing out her shape-shifting ability on such a large scale kind of made her unused to the whole thing. Include the distance she traveled in such a quick amount of time and it'll add up to one tired Neo Kyuubi no Kitsune. In an impressive display of speed, Kushina caught Kaiya before the girl could fall forward and land face first against the ground in front of her. Shizune brought over Kaiya's clothes and they quickly dressed her body. Rin was actually thankful for developing her skills in storage seals since she was able to carry Kushina's stuff while Kaiya was carried piggy-back style by the late Yondaime's tomboyish wife.

This was the very sight that the guards at one of Konoha's gates had the privilege of seeing. One guard in particular was smart enough to just let the group through with only a greeting to interrupt their entrance into the village. After all, he did see Tsunade send Jiraiya into the sky for something that the Toad-Sannin said. The Sannin's landing and condition after the fall was good enough identification for him to believe that Jiraiya and Tsunade had returned to the village. He didn't know the other two but he wasn't about to argue since he noticed that the redheaded woman was carrying Kaiya Namikaze who was mumbling something about ramen and a pool. The guard idly wondered if a food addiction was a genetically inheritable trait. If it was then he shuddered to think what Anko's kids might be like should she ever let some guy into her heart. His shift soon ended and the guard suddenly felt the need for a strong drink. 'Funny, seems a lot of people are sharing the same idea lately. Maybe we should start calling this place the village hidden among the sake.' The guard disappeared in a relatively quiet swirl of leaves.

---------

Sarutobi thought carefully about what was going on. From the celebratory mood of the village he could tell that Tsunade was back. Then why did he feel an odd sense of foreboding? The aged Hokage decided to wisely hide his unique book while relaxing as his kage bunshins do the paperwork. He had to thank Kaiya for the suggestion that was made so long ago. It actually allowed him more time to make up for certain mistakes with his family. Well, there was also the freedom to read his book while the stacks of paper were handled. Fortunately, each bunshin was dispelled one at a time allowing for the old man to sort through the bunshin's memories before dealing with the remaining bunshins. For now, the three bunshin were left alone to deal with a particularly large stack that had fallen in the old man's lap.

Even though he could deal with the paperwork easily these days, it was very annoying to see that the stacks had apparently seemed to slowly increase due to his ability to handle things. Sarutobi thought it best to warn his student of this and worked to consider ways to counter what was going on. At least he thought about it for a bit, and then paled in fear when a slightly drunk guard showed up to inform him of the answer to his earlier question. Kushina was back and only Sarutobi knew that she'd be very unhappy with him. The old man knew that he had done what he believed to be best when considering the surround circumstances. For the most part, his actions minimized the danger to Kaiya's life. Although her life wasn't exactly what one would consider an improvement even though she didn't have to worry about threats from outside the village. At least he wasn't alone as far as those that'll probably be in pain soon. The council did have a hand in keeping Kushina from her child even though the blame mainly fell on Danzo and the two who were once the Sandaime's teammates.

Cursing the old fools, Sarutobi made sure that anything important was safe and secure from the coming maelstrom. A small laugh escaped his lips as he thought about the name that Minato had given his son after the Kyuubi's defeat and before the whole incident that drastically changed the child. It pained Sarutobi that things had happened the way they did thanks to power hungry fools who didn't know when to stop. Konoha was supposed to be a village where everyone was treated as family and they all worked together in protecting their home. Somehow, like Orochimaru's dream of mastering Ninjutsu, the village's ideals became twisted. Konoha's citizens only cared for those who shared things in common with others and tended to avoid things that unnerved them.

This was the cause for most Aburame to be loners until some one sees them for who they are and not what they contain. The Hyuuga clan was in a similar state yet because of their prized kekkei genkai it wasn't as bad. To make matters worse, the village seemed to have a rather unfortunate reputation for stealing power. Sarutobi had heard of these complaints on the occasions he walked amongst other villages while posing as a simple civilian. He had a feeling that it wasn't just the council that was responsible for this. Though the three elders who were mainly responsible for this were now dead, there were still a few members who were foolishly looking to gain power quickly like a certain Uchiha before Kaiya fixed his problem. ROOT was also an issue that Sarutobi had been quick to fix. Konoha still had a long way to go before it regained the respect of other villages. For now…

Bam!

'Oh shit.' Sarutobi thought as he saw the faces of rather unhappy kunoichi in the doorway of the door that had nearly been knocked off its hinges. He thanked any and all deities he could think of when his grandson fell from the ceiling and into his lap. Kaiya may have gotten the kid to stop attempting to assassinate him but that didn't prevent the occasional spying. At least Konohamaru had Moegi and Udon around as friends. A few training methods slipped in the times when Kaiya played ninja with them made the trio quite the handful for Iruka. Right now they were a life saver for the old Hokage. The fact Kaiya was asleep only made things easier for him even though he knew that he wouldn't get away unscathed. The first to words spoken were rather funny and a slight surprise considering their source.

"Mmm… Ramen…" Kaiya stated while still sleeping. The fact she almost mistook Kushina's hair for ramen noodles made the mood seem not as bad as it would have been for the old man. Hilarity aside, there was much to discuss. Mainly Sarutobi had to explain why he chose certain methods to keep a few secrets. Even though the Konohamaru Corps kept the Sandaime safe by just being there, the old man was still with the understanding that if he didn't tread carefully then he'd probably lose the very thing that defines him as male among other possible and painful punishments. Sadly, the old man's biggest edge was rather useless since the members of the Konohamaru Corps weren't old enough to drink sake. Sarutobi's strategic thinking halted by Kushina's chuckling and her next choice of words.

"Just tell me one thing and I'll only trouble you if I don't like the answer. Did you choose your actions in the hopes that they were best for everyone involved even though things didn't exactly turn out as you'd hope?" The look on Kushina's face told the old man that even if he said yes, then he better pray that his response was not a lie or mistaken as one.

"Yes." Sarutobi stated with complete honesty. "I'll admit I made rash decisions but I managed to repair what damage I could even though I regret the result that put Kaiya through such a life of hardship."

'It sounded more like she went through hell repeatedly when Tsunade explained things. From what Jiraiya explained on the way here, the blame falls on the shoulders of three dead elders.' Kushina thought with no small amount of irritation. She quickly got the old man to tell her the location of Kaiya's home and was slightly surprised that Kaiya actually moved into the Namikaze estate. After all, the whole place was set up by Minato. Regardless, Kushina carried her daughter home while the others explained what happened during their journey. The Konohamaru Corps was her "official" escort but she could tell that there were some ANBU tailing her and it was easy to understand why. For all they knew, she could be a threat to the village. Their concern for the village was touching, yet Kushina idly wondered how concerned they were for Kaiya's safety. Based on what she heard, their concern was a little lacking since there were certain attacks that occurred and yet the ANBU could have prevented such attacks. Thankfully, Kaiya's Tamagan allowed her to avoid a number of problems before the villagers started to get even further out of hand with their attacks.

The irony of it all was not lost on Kushina. As she carried Kaiya through the streets she noticed the occasional passerby talking with others and subtly glancing at her, or at least they thought they were subtle. She could tell that they were asking about her as if thinking that the person they were asking might know something. It was doubtful since she wasn't as memorable as Minato, but that's the price one pays for being an ANBU captain. Regardless of that, Kushina was looking forward to meeting the young man that captured her daughter's heart. Just before the whole incident with Kaiya being kidnapped, Jiraiya had told her to expect Haku to have a rather feminine appearance. The fact that Hinata was included bothered Kushina a little bit, but it was mostly because of how it sounded like Kaiya and Hinata planned the whole situation. She wasn't sure how to react to the information since Hinata was a Hyuuga and such behavior hardly seemed like what one could expect from the Hyuuga heir. If it weren't for the fact that Hinata was the only Hyuuga who knew about Kaiya being Naruto, then the Hyuuga clan might have raised a ruckus about how Kaiya corrupted Hinata.

To Kushina, it didn't matter who corrupted who since she now had not only a future son in law to worry about, but also a future daughter in law. She actually wondered if Haku might end up with even more wives before the marriage finally takes place.

'Well, first they'd need to be engaged and I haven't heard anything about that so far.' Kushina thought as she stood facing the front door of the Namikaze estate. Konohamaru was kind enough to knock on the door for her. Unfortunately for Kushina, she probably should have let them stay after thanking them for escorting her to Kaiya's home. She was in for quite a surprise when the door opened.

"Hello, how may I help you?" Haku said to Kushina while not noticing Kaiya just yet.

"Haku-kun, who is it?" Hinata asked from somewhere behind Haku. Kushina's mind froze for a moment as she tried to process what she was seeing.

'I know she said to expect Haku to appear feminine but I didn't expect this much.' Kushina thought quickly as her mind raced. Her dazed state made her ignore most of whatever was being said as she was guided to a table that snacks quickly occupied. Fortunately, she only missed a little bit since Haku and Hinata noticed her current condition and wondered if they broke her. Kushina was shaken out of her stupor when Zabuza sat down at the table and reached for a snack. His behavior caused the appropriate proverbial cold shower which caused Kushina's next action.

SMACK!

"If you wanted a snack, then you should ask politely for the person nearest to it to pass the plate to you." Kushina stated while in the good manners lecture mode. Haku and Hinata snickered a little at Zabuza as he was rubbing the spot where Kushina hit him.

"Fine… Will you please pass me the snacks?" Zabuza asked politely, knowing that she'd probably hit him again if he didn't. It's not to say he's afraid of her, yet Kushina made it quite clear just now that she was most definitely the wife of a kage level shinobi. Haku may not have realized it yet, but Zabuza knew Kushina's description well enough to recognize her. Too bad Zabuza ended up regretting eating when Kushina asked Haku if he truly was a boy. It wasn't the question that bothered him, but Hinata's comment about how Haku was definitely a man. The way she said it made him feel like he really didn't need to know the next part.

"What makes you say that Hinata?" Kushina asked carefully since she wasn't sure she wanted to intrude on anything personal, even though she wasn't so sure about the whole age situation. She was among those who partially agree with the idea that if you're old enough to kill, then you're old enough to be considered an adult and deal with all that entails such status.

"Let's just say that it's a mystery how Haku is able to wear what he does and keep hidden what defines him as male from Anko-nee-chan." Kaiya said softly as she was halfway awake. Haku blushed from embarrassment while Hinata had a slightly different reason for her full body blush and slightly glazed eyes. Kushina and Zabuza were a mix of spit takes and choking. Zabuza had been well informed of how Anko is like and his reaction only solidified Kushina's strong feeling of what Kaiya hinted. The whole thing left Kushina feeling pretty silly for walking right into that. While Kaiya was in the process of fully waking up, Kushina was idly wondering what other surprises might come around.

"Hey Hinata, what's with the ring you got on your hand?" Kaiya asked after finally noticing the odd accessory on Hinata's left hand.

"Oh, Haku asked me to marry him." Hinata stated with happiness written all over her face while surprising Zabuza and Kushina. Kaiya decided to get more information as the two adults were busy making yet another mess.

"When did this happen?" Kaiya stated almost in monotone.

"Just before we were about to leave to find you. After all, Haku wanted to ask you something important." Hinata said as Haku stood up and walked over next to Kaiya who stood up as well while wondering what was going on. Kaiya of course had an idea but she didn't want to get her hopes up just yet.

"Kaiya Namikaze…" Haku said calmly as possible while nervousness was in his voice. Kneeling on one knee, Haku brought out a small box and opened it as he asked… "Will you marry me?"

"YES!" Kaiya practically screamed as she enveloped Haku in her arms. Tears of joy fell from her face as she literally wiggled around while causing her body to rub against Haku in an interesting manner. Hinata shifted over to join in the hug which caused Haku to feel like the meat inside a sandwich. He was just glad that he could still breathe and that the beautiful ring didn't fall out of the box and get lost. The engagement ring was a beautiful mix of silver and white gold for the band. There were four gemstones that had been placed as if to imitate the Sharingan despite the distinct differences. The "pupil" was a ruby while each tomoe had a different gem in their place. Diamond, amber, and amethyst clearly represented Kaiya, Haku, and Hinata while the ruby represented their love. It was the kind of love that would last a long time and be patient enough to wait for the wedding that would take place in a few years.

The last part was more for the sake of Kushina, Zabuza, and the others who'd have a fit just hearing about the engagement. Sarutobi probably would have had a heart attack if it weren't for the fact that Haku approached him when Hinata was busy with something while Kaiya was away. The reason why was because Haku believed that if anyone might know of the best place to get engagement rings, then it had to be the Hokage. After all, only the Hokage would know of just about everything in the village. Well, Danzo would probably know more but he's dead and Kaiya wasn't the best choice to be asked even if she was in the village. Asking Kaiya to use the memories she stole from Danzo to pick out the best place to go to for an engagement ring would ruin the surprise. Speaking of surprises, if the engagement was suppose to be a surprise of some kind for everyone else, then Kaiya's scream of yes ruined the surprise. After all, Ino was window shopping at the same store Haku bought the rings from and she had a pretty good idea what was going on.

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Sarutobi chuckled lightly as he was sipping sake along with Tsunade, Jiraiya, Shizune, and Rin. The resounding "yes" was heard throughout Konoha and quite a few knew what it meant thanks to Ino. The blonde mind mistress lived up to her reputation for being a big gossip. A few shinobi and council members are almost as bad and the aged Hokage just knew his successor would be hearing from the council about this. It wouldn't be so that the marriage would be prevented, but rather so that they may add to the number of wives Haku would end up with. Apparently old does not mean wise since one would think that those on the council would be smart enough to not upset some one like Kaiya. Even then, there was still Hinata and Haku to worry about as well. Granted, things were rather rushed, but the council didn't need to make things worse. This sort of thing was a first considering the circumstances and who knows how it would end. Sarutobi's musings halted as he went back to discussing a few plans with Tsunade for when she'd take on the position of Hokage. He just hoped that things go smoothly even after Tsunade becomes Hokage. Still, he had the feeling he'd be doing one last act as Hokage before leaving office.

---------

Six figures were making their way to Konohagakure no Sato and their destination was finally in sight. They all walked at a leisurely pace so as to not seem anymore threatening than what they usually do. After all, each of them happens to be pretty famous criminals of the highest order. As they were walking, the Sandaime was making his speech about the truth behind the Uchiha massacre. The pace of the six Akatsuki members seemed to match the tempo of Sarutobi's words. Itachi did have a sneezing fit while the others looked at him oddly. Kisame, Sasori, Deidara, and Konan put a little distance between themselves and Itachi while Zetsu got a little closer to the Uchiha. Anyway, the S-rank criminals missed out on hearing about how Itachi had discovered a deal between the Uchiha clan and Orochimaru.

Shisui Uchiha had apparently made the mistake of gloating while underestimating Itachi's skills when the Uchiha elders sent Shisui to kill Itachi. Unfortunately for Shisui, he died and Itachi managed to make it seem like Shisui committed suicide via drowning. Itachi then went to inform the Hokage of the Uchiha clan's betrayal. Sadly, there wasn't really anything Sarutobi could do that would stick since the Uchiha clan made up almost all of Konoha's police force. Not willing to risk civil war, the Sandaime took the time to consider his options and during this time some one else took action. Apparently, an Uchiha that lived outside of Konoha caught wind of the whole thing and decided to deny Orochimaru access to the Sharingan by posing as a fellow Uchiha and killing the clan. Thus he placed the blame on Itachi since the young Uchiha was already suspected of "murdering" Shisui who was like a brother to him.

Sarutobi left out the fact that the responsible Uchiha's name was Obito since Kaiya had informed him quite a bit about the wayward Uchiha and how his body was being used by Madara. Obviously this information would cause unnecessary trauma for Kakashi after the Jounin were to wake up thanks to Tsunade. The old man did wonder about where Kaiya manages to get her information. Regardless, at the end of his speech an ANBU showed up and quietly informed him of the six visitors that were expected to show. Sarutobi had to marvel at how convenient their timing was. He had only just mentioned that they'd be arriving soon and that he'd like for everyone to not cause a disturbance when they entered.

'At least they didn't arrive in a similar manner as Anko.' Sarutobi thought as he made his way to the gate the six ex-Akatsuki members were at. The Sandaime Hokage could feel a headache coming on as he reached the gate. Then again, it might have something to do with how Sasuke was apparently coming towards his position only after the brat had been woken up by Tsunade just before the whole speech got started. 'Hopefully, he heard enough to know not to do anything stupid.'

"Itachi!" 'Guess not…' Sarutobi thought at he sighed. Turning around he noticed that Sasuke was clearly fuming but keeping his anger under control as he slowly walked up to his brother. Itachi didn't make a move while the other former Akatsuki members moved to the side just in case. The Chuunin looked toward the Hokage who waved him back while Sarutobi stepped aside to see what would happen. He'd only step in if things got out of hand. Sasuke looked angry at his brother but the aged Hokage could read into the boy's soul and tell that Sasuke lacked any killing intent at Itachi. However, that didn't mean Sasuke wasn't going to do something. The meaty sound of a fist meeting some one's cheek could be echoed.

"Why? Why did you take the blame when some one else was responsible and trying to frame you?" Sasuke demanded much to the relief of Sarutobi who was silently thanking Kaiya for her efforts. The boy did foolishly charge headlong into battle once before but apparently for a slightly different reason than revenge. It was to protect Kaiya even though she didn't need protection from Itachi. All Sarutobi could say about such a thing is that at least Sasuke had his priorities straight.

"If I hadn't taken the blame then you would have sought vengeance and you'd have no idea who really did it. Even if you knew who was truly responsible I doubt you'd have been a match for some one who's stronger than me. The one responsible was only able to be killed by a powerfully potent poison which wasn't the kind of thing you'd think to do." Itachi said while having a small smirk at the end.

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Epilogue:

It wasn't easy, but it didn't take long to get the six ex-Akatsuki members instated as Konoha shinobi. Tsunade was quickly instated as Godaime Hokage and she kept Sarutobi around as an advisor after he resigned as Hokage. Konohagakure's relations with the other villages had to be reinforced but it didn't take long for the villages to become allies after some "negotiations" were performed. Time went on as Kaiya became the Rokudaime Hokage. She was probably the only Hokage who could defeat the enemy of all Kages while still enjoying her time with her children. The little balls of energy were quite the handful when they discovered that they had two kekkei genkai abilities. Hinata's children were probably just as bad and Kaiya worried a little about how they might be like when puberty hits. Sometimes she wondered if Hinata and Akahana were having private talks while she slept.

The things Hinata and Haku manage to do to each other and her while in bed were rather amazing. Kaiya sometimes had a difficult time walking and those were before she had to waddle her way around. It was almost funny to note that the couple times Kaiya got pregnant she never had just one baby. They actually had to buy earplugs for her seven two year old kids to keep them from hearing what she might say like the last time she had kids. It was odd on how they all looked rather androgynous despite how the four girls and three boys wore clothes that hopefully would make their gender seem obvious. Kaiya could just imagine the fan-girls and fan-boys that would be hounding her twelve children. After the second birth she had an equal amount of boys and girls. Kaiya had Tsunade make sure to keep the council from pressuring her into having more kids and stated that if they were really desperate then they could simply take her eggs and fertilize them before implanting at least one egg in each council member. They'd have to do a little research for the male members but the point was made and the council only needed to hear the threat once.

Time passed and Kaiya enjoyed life even though she finally realized the drawback of becoming Akahana's heir. Sometimes immortality sucks, but at least her descendants turned out okay. Well, for the most part at least…

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Author's Notes: This is about as far as I can go with this story before it becomes a chore instead of something fun. I'll consider making a sequel sometime but I'm not promising anything. My apologies go out to those who are disappointed.


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